A man-eating tiger that claimed more than a dozen victims in two years has been shot dead in India, sparking controversy over the legality of its killing.
One of India’s most high-profile tiger hunts in decades ended on Friday when the mother of two 10-month old cubs – known to hunters as T1 but Avni to wildlife lovers – was shot dead in the jungles of Maharashtra state.
Last month wildlife officials deployed perfume in a bid to lure the animal.
Activists had campaigned to save the tiger, but India’s Supreme Court said it would not interfere if forest rangers were forced to shoot it.
A team armed with a tranquiliser gun and a firearm was stationed in a vehicle on a road where the tigress, known as T-1, had been spotted by villagers, a Forestry Department statement said.
In August the tigress and her two nine-month-old cubs killed three people in the area around the town of Pandharkawada in Yavatmal district and left more than 5,000 residents fearing for their lives.
