New Delhi: India's most famous tiger, photographed by thousands of tourists over the years at Ranthambore National Park, died on Thursday, days after the ageing animal stopped eating.
Machali had been the star attraction of Ranthambore National Park for years because of her seemingly calm nature and penchant for posing for cameras, and she even had her own Facebook page.
But Machali, the longest-surviving tigress in the park at the age of 20, had been slowing down in recent years and had lost her teeth.
She was found starving and laying on her side this week near the park's boundary in Rajasthan, sparking constant care by vets and park staff.
"We were trying to provide her treatment but she died. It was a natural death linked to her age," Ranthambore tiger project director Yogesh Kumar Sahu told news agency AFP.
Endangered Royal Bengal tigers live on average for 10 to 15 years.
Featured in wildlife documentaries, she was once filmed successfully battling a four-metre (14-foot) long crocodile, according to the park's website.
Machali, the Hindi word for fish because of shaped markings on her face, also had 11 cubs over the years whose offspring make up almost half the park's tiger population.
Her death comes as a massive search continues for another much-loved tiger, Jai, in the state of Maharashtra who disappeared from a wildlife sanctuary in April.
India is home to more than half of the world's tiger population with some 2,226 of the animals roaming its reserves, according to the last count in 2014.
Machali had been the star attraction of Ranthambore National Park for years because of her seemingly calm nature and penchant for posing for cameras, and she even had her own Facebook page.
But Machali, the longest-surviving tigress in the park at the age of 20, had been slowing down in recent years and had lost her teeth.
"We were trying to provide her treatment but she died. It was a natural death linked to her age," Ranthambore tiger project director Yogesh Kumar Sahu told news agency AFP.
Advertisement
Featured in wildlife documentaries, she was once filmed successfully battling a four-metre (14-foot) long crocodile, according to the park's website.
Advertisement
Her death comes as a massive search continues for another much-loved tiger, Jai, in the state of Maharashtra who disappeared from a wildlife sanctuary in April.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2 Review: Setting New EV Benchmark Video: Tiger Attacks Cow During Wildlife Safari In Ranthambore National Park Customer Orders 1 Fish Fry, Zomato's Hilarious Reply Is Winning The Internet World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage 1 Passenger Dies As Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express Derails In UP Why BJP Lost Lok Sabha Polls In Uttar Pradesh - 6 Reasons In Party Report OpenAI Unveils Cheaper Small AI Model GPT-4o Mini Man Insulted By Employer's Son Takes Revenge, Robs Him Off Rs 3.5 Crore Norton Motorcycles To Be Launched In India; Six Motorcycles Announced For Global Markets Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.