The tiger was found dead earlier this week in Kodaikanal. (File Photo)
The fifteen-year-old tiger found dead near Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu this week may have been poisoned, officials have said.
Scouring the area, forest officials have located the carcass of a horse about 700 metres from where the tiger was found. The horse, hidden in a bush close to an area inhabited by humans, may have been killed by the tiger, they say.
"Tigers keep the prey they kill for close to six days and keep coming back daily to eat. Knowing the pattern someone must have poisoned the horse carcass fearing it could turn a man-eater," District Forest Officer D Venkatesh said.
The autopsy report on the tiger is expected in a few days.
The horse carcass had a strong stench of insecticides, officials added.
Although officials had earlier estimated the tiger's age to be ten, experts who performed the post-mortem say he's fifteen years old. The report from the post-mortem is awaited in a few days.
The forests around Kodaikanal are part of the Palni Hills and are connected to the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats. The big cats also often migrate to the Anamalai Hills.
Authorities say there could be up to six tigers in the forests around Kodaikanal.