The tiger deaths just keep on coming as Maharashtra lost its third tiger this year, a ten-year-old tigress found dead in the Melghat wildlife division, believed to have perished six days ago either of old age or due to injuries from a fight with a wild boar. Forest officials said that the exact cause will be determined only after the histopathology report comes in. The average age of a tiger is usually around 16-18 years. On Sunday, a forest guard on patrol found the dead tiger in the Akot range, which falls in the buffer zone of the Melghat tiger project. According to the post-mortem conducted by two veterinary doctors, its death is estimated to have happened around six days ago as the body had putrefied. "The wild boar connection is being drawn as a half-eaten boar was also found around 100 metres from the body. The meat samples of the boar will now be collected and sent for toxicological tests to ascertain if the carcass was poisoned to kill the tigress," a forest official said. They added that the body of the tiger was intact and so far, no other signs of poaching, electrocution or poisoning had been found. The tigress named T-35 had marked her territory in the Narnala area of the tiger project division along with the adjoining buffer zone. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Maharashtra has seen two tiger mortalities so far — on January 3 at Pench near Nagpur (a female cub) and a male in Chikhaldara Melghat on January 4. So far, the number of recorded tiger deaths across India this year stands at 12. Boar Fight Suspected Forest officials believe she died either of old age or due to injuries from a fight with a wild boar as one was found 100 m away

Stay updated with all the Mumbai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.