Suspense continues over missing Maya tigress in Chandrapur

Forest authorities in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, discovered the body parts of a tiger in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) during a search operation. However, they have stated that confirmation of whether these body parts belong to 'Maya,' a popular tigress in the area who went missing in August this year, will only be determined after analysis.

The forest officials made it clear that the gender of the striped feline whose body parts were recovered is yet to be established, and a sample of bones collected during the operation has been sent for an analysis to the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bengaluru.

The clarification from the forest authorities comes in response to reports circulating in a section of the media and on social media, suggesting that the deceased animal was T-12, widely known as Maya, a dominant tigress in the area. Maya went missing in August this year, following which 150 staff members of the TATR launched an intense monitoring operation to trace the tigress from October 7 with the help of camera traps and regular patrolling. The entire area of Tadoba and Kolara ranges, known to be her territory and movement area, was covered during this exercise, an official said.

T-12 was not found in the area. However, the forest team came across the scattered remains of a tiger under the Tadoba range of TATR on November 18, he said. It has been observed in media, including social media, that the information shared by the TATR office has been misinterpreted and it was assumed that the TATR authorities have declared about the death of tigress T-12. The TATR office has in no way implied the death of tigress T-12, field director of TATR Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar said.