Kalpetta: Carcasses of three tigers were found in Wayanad on Wednesday, prompting Forest and Wildlife Minister AK Saseendran to announce a special team to probe into the incident. The team will examine possible human involvement and any deliberate attempts to kill the animals, with the officials directed to submit a report within a month.

The first carcass, suspected to be that of a nearly one-year-old female tiger, was found in a coffee plantation at Odathode near Chundel in the South Wayanad Forest Division. Plantation workers found it amid rising reports of cattle attacks in the area. South Wayanad Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ajith K Raman stated that the carcass was highly decomposed, making it difficult to determine the exact cause of death, though initial assessments suggest infighting.

Later, two more tiger carcasses—a male and a female—were found in the Thathoor section of the Kurichiad Forest Range under Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. One of the tigers had a partially severed front leg, raising suspicions about the nature of the deaths.

Wayanad Wildlife Warden Varun Dalia suggested that the fatalities could be due to territorial fights, as this is the mating season for tigers. “During this period, dominant males fiercely defend their territory, which can lead to violent confrontations,” he explained. The postmortem examinations are scheduled for Friday.

The special investigation team, constituted by the minister, will be led by Chief Conservator of Forests (Northern Circle) KS Deepa and includes Wayanad Wildlife Warden Varun Dalia, South Wayanad DFO Ajith K Raman, Kozhikode DFO (Working Plan) P Dhanesh Kumar, Chief Forest Veterinary Officer Dr Arun Zachariah, Assistant Forest Veterinary Officer Dr Ajeesh Mohandas, and Dr Dinesh PD from the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Wayanad.