Karnataka Tiger deaths: Wildlife experts call for trained professionals.

With the continuing deaths of tigers in Nagarhole-Bandipur region, wildlife officials and experts call for a dedicated team of vets and a separate veterinary cadre in the state forest department. There is also a need for a department of wildlife health monitoring, rescue and forensics in view of the rising man-animal conflict, especially in districts having tiger reserves. Five tigers and one leopard have died in the last 23 days. The rising pressure on the state forest department to capture and relocate tigers and leopards has in fact exposed the clear lack of veterinary expertise in dealing with both immobilization and post-treatment measures as also wildlife diseases. Given the gravity of the situation, more trained professionals in wildlife health are needed for the five tiger reserves.continue