Croc kills tiger after night-long duelKOLKATA: Some time on Monday evening, two of the most feared predators of the Sunderbans clashed in a battle of claws and fangs. It was a fight to the death and it lasted all night. As daylight broke on Tuesday, the carcass of a tigress was found on the banks of a creek with a 14-foot-long crocodile guarding the kill. Wildlife experts say this is the first such documented case in the Sunderbans. Though crocodiles and tigers do come in contact this is the first time that a crocodile has stalked and hunted a tiger in the mangroves. The tigress was aged about 8-10 years. “A beat officer was the first to report on the scene. The tigress’ genitals and one of the hind legs are missing. A crocodile was prowling very close and it appears, prima facie, a case of crocodile attack,” said Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR) field director Subrat Mukherjee. It seems to have been a very brutal fight. The ghastly state of the carcass prompted forest officials to send for vets from Kolkata, rather than have it examined by their regular STR vets. “There were at least 30 crocodile teeth marks on the tiger’s body. Since there were no other injuries, it appears to be a case of crocodile attack,” said S B Mondal, principal chief conservator of forests, wildlife.
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