Endangered Bengal tiger crushed to death by excavator
WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: One of the world’s most endangered tiger’s has been crushed to death by an excavator in the Himalayas.
After allegedly killing two people in a nearby town the day earlier, a partially tranquilised Bengal tiger was cornered by workmen and officials from the Corbett wildlife park in the Indian foothills.
As the loader was momentarily raised into the air, the roaring tiger was forced underneath the excavator, before it was crushed.
Sickening footage showed the tiger wriggling it’s legs as a large portion of it’s torso and head remained trapped under the heavy machine.
A government investigation will now be held to determine whether the tiger was killed intentionally.
Following a series of screams, workmen rushed in with a net and pulled the bloodied and injured tiger from the hole.
It's alleged that after killing a woman and her father-in-law, authorities asked workmen to help corral the tiger with their large machinery.
The animal was later taken to nearby Nainital zoo where a post-mortem report lists the causes of death as asphyxiation, injuries inflicted from territorial disputes with other tigers, and blood poisoning.
Although tigers are protected under its international stipulations, India’s booming population has contributed to dangerous interactions between humans and tigers, with only three per cent of the country uninhabited.
The disturbing footage emerged on the same day that five frozen tigers were discovered in a Vietnamese man's freezer with their organs removed.
Tiger organs and bones are used for medicinal purposes in the communist country, where a thriving local market drives the illegal sale of animal parts including ivory and rhino horn.
