Shocking! Avni, 'Man-eater tigress believed to be behind alleged deaths of 13 people in Maharashtra; killed

Tigress Avni named as 'Man-eater' has been allegedly responsible for the deaths of at least 13 people in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district over two years has been shot dead. Her postmortem will be conducted at Nagpur's Gorewada Rescue Centre.

The top court in September said that Avni, officially known as T1 could be shot on sight prompting a flurry of online petitions. Avni is survived by her two cubs who are 10 months old.

The hunt for the tigress Avni began in September this year. Around 150 ground personnel, elephants and shooters experts were deployed to find Avni.

Avni 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 vicinity of the Tippeshwar Tiger Sanctuary. As per reports, the forest department had also hired the services of controversial private marksman Shafat Ali Khan.

In 2012, Avni was first spotted in the forests of Yavatmal. DNA evidence links her to 5 of the 13 bodies found in the thickets she inhabits. Biologists and the Forest Department officials who have surveyed the area over the past few years say that there is only one other tiger there, a male tiger. His DNA was found on one of the bodies, claims reports.

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