WWF assists in taking a “wild” X-ray for an ailing tiger in Sundarbans, India

On the afternoon of March 2nd 2013, the forest staff of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary sighted an ailing sub-adult tigress. The tigress was observed to be struggling to walk and was found to be hopping instead of the normal striding motion. To determine and treat the problem affecting the tigress, the animal was captured by forest staff late a few days later under direct supervision of the field director.

The tigress in its special enclosure at the Sajnekhali Widlife Sanctuary  © Pankaj Kumar Sarkar/WWF-India
The tigress in its special enclosure at the Sajnekhali Widlife Sanctuary
© Pankaj Kumar Sarkar/WWF-India

A team comprised of senior veterinarians formerly from Kolkata’s Alipore Zoo, West Bengal Forest Department and NTCA Schedule I Animal Handling Committee members as well as WWF-India observed the tigress but could not discern any external injuries. Since the team detected a discomfort in the tigress while it was sitting on its haunches, they recommended pathological tests and an X-ray to be conducted on the tiger to determine if its hind and leg bones had any injury or internal defects.
As an X-ray of a wild tiger in its natural habitat had never before been attempted in India, this posed significant challenges. However, the West Bengal Forest Department and WWF managed to convince a Kolkta-based diagnostics clinic to use their mobile human x-ray machine for the tigress.
After much effort, the x-ray was successfully taken on September 12th. The X-rays did not detect any internal abnormalities in the pelvis, hip joints and leg bones of the tigress nor did the pathological tests detect pathogens. But as the tigress was still weak, the team recommended that it be kept under observation in a special enclosure in the Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary’s range office until it is fit for release back in the wild.
The tigress undergoing X-ray  © Ratul Saha/WWF-India
The tigress undergoing X-ray
© Ratul Saha/WWF-India

To enable effective and secure monitoring of the tigress, the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve Directorate with WWF’s active support devised a 24-hour monitoring system using closed circuit TV. As this would be only the second attempt in India to rehabilitate a tigress in the wild, a surveillance camera system will generate a wealth of information that could help decide whether the animal is capable of going back into the wild.
WWF will continue to work with the West Bengal Forest Department to observe the recovery of the tigress, which is currently progressing at a good rate. A decision will soon be made on the tigress’ release back into the wild.
The tiger is one of the most threatened species on Earth and as few as 3,200 remain in the wild. Learn more about WWF-India’s tiger conservation work and adopt a tiger today to support WWF’s efforts.