Tiger killed by poachers inside Indian zoo

A tigress was killed and hacked into pieces in her enclosure by poachers at Itanagar zoo in India's north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh .

The poachers broke in and killed the six-year-old tigress between 8 pm and 10 pm on Monday night taking advantage of the absence of the three guards on duty. The guards had gone for their dinner and found the hacked tigress carcass in the enclosure.



"The poachers cut the tigress into pieces but could not take them away as the guards had returned," Zoo chief Zoram Dopum said. He also said the animal was among the six big cats in the zoo. The post-mortem was done on Tuesday and a report was lodged at Itanagar police station.

An investigation is underway to catch the culprits, he said, adding the forest department was also initiating a separate departmental inquiry into the matter. Itanagar zoo, 8 km from the town and established in 1987, is spread over 250 hectares.