A tiger's suspected fatal encounter with a train in Tamil Nadu's Tenkasi district has brought railway safety through wildlife habitats into focus, with the Forest Department seeking a 50 per cent reduction in the night-time speed limit on the stretch.
The four-to-five-year-old tiger is believed to have been run over by the Palaruvi Express while crossing the tracks between Sengottai and Baghavathipuram, close to the Kerala border. Forest officials suspect the incident occurred past midnight on Tuesday.
The carcass was found on the railway track, and a post-mortem examination confirmed severe injuries to the animal's head.
"The post-mortem report confirms that the tiger's skull was damaged and the brain had collapsed. We believe the death is due to a train hit," Dr Rajmohan, District Forest Officer, Tenkasi, told NDTV.
In response, the District Forest Officer has written to the Railways seeking a reduction in the night-time speed limit from 60 kmph to 30 kmph. Forest personnel have also been asked to intensify night patrols.
The location is barely a kilometre from a reserve forest. Baghavathipuram is the last railway station within Tamil Nadu on this stretch, beyond which the line enters Kerala.
The incident has drawn attention to the tiger population in Tenkasi's forest areas. Officials estimate that six to seven tigers could inhabit the region, although this is not a confirmed census figure. The surrounding Western Ghats landscape is connected to major tiger habitats, including the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
Forest officials are treating this as the first recorded instance of a tiger being killed in a train collision in Tamil Nadu.
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