Tigress named Avni who was believed to be responsible for the deaths of 13 people over the last two years, was shot dead in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal last night.
A police official said, “Avni was shot dead by sharp-shooter Asgar Ali, son of famous sharp-shooter Nawab Shafat Ali, at compartment number 149 of Borati forest under the jurisdiction of the Ralegaon police station.”
For nearly three months, 150 ground personnel, elephants and so-called expert trackers and shooters were on a hunt to find Avn as she had killed 13 people over the last two years in the region.
She was traced with the help of trap cameras, drones, a pack of trained sniffer dogs and a hang-glider along with a team of Forest Department officials in the region of the Tippeshwar Tiger Sanctuary.
Jerryl A. Banait t, the wildlife activist quarrelled that instead of killing her, the Forest Department should capture her alive, as per the Supreme Court orders on September 11. Earlier the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench admitted a petition that sought a stay on plans to kill the tigress and instead capture her alive.