Beloved tiger Machli dies in Indian park

Legendary tigress Machhli, who was the world’s oldest tigress in the wild, died in Ranthambhore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan on Thursday after a prolonged illness, during which she had stopped eating for the last five days. Over the years, she became one of the most photographed animals, drawing thousands of visitors to the reserves and brining in crores of rupees in terms of annual revenue through tourism to the park.

However, he added, this time seeing her condition, it was hard to believe that she would cheat death yet again. She was under observation at Ama Ghati, in the fringe area of the reserve. The cremation is to avoid the body parts from being harvested, Field Director of Ranthambore, Y.K Sahu told IANS. In the last few weeks she had to be fed by the staff at the national park. With age not on her side, her diet soon had to be supplemented by the forest department -a move that prompted protests from many among the wildlife fraternity. She was 19 years old.

She was known as “The Queen Mother of Tigers”, “The Queen of Ranthambore” and the “Lady of the Lake”. They mostly go into seclusion. A team of veterinarians and forest officials were “monitoring” her condition for the past week.

The tigress was given her name, which means fish in Hindi, because of a piscine marking on her face, according to the Ranthambore website. Machali, then a 13-year-old matriarch, had to submit to the tiger, but not without a fight, which also was caught on still camera. She understood the importance of humans and never showed aggression.

Known as the Queen of Ranthambore, Machli was described as one of the world’s most photographed tigers.

Sunny Shah, Landscape Coordinator, Ranthambore from World Wildlife Fund – India, said Machli had mothered almost a dozen cubs over a period of 16 years, contributing to almost 60 per cent of the population in Ranthambore and Sariska.