Urine, perfume, son of controversial shooter: How tigress Avni was shot dead in Maharashtra

Avni, or TI, a tigress that had been labelled a man-eater, was shot dead by hunters last night in Maharashtra. A six-year-old mother of two, Avni was killed after a months-long controversial hunt that prompted pleas that the President of India intervene and issue a 'pardon' for the tigress.

Animal rights activists alleged that laws were blatantly violated during the hunt for Avni. The hunt became particularly controversial because of the involvement of a famous private hunter -- sharp-shooter Nawab Shafat Ali -- who activists said had a fetish for killing big cats.

(It was Nawab Shafat Ali's son who shot dead Avni last night, by the way.)

Activists also said that the rule book was completely overlooked while classifying Avni as a man-eater.

Avni was blamed by the Maharashtra government for the deaths of at least 13 human beings. The Maharashtra Forest Department reportedly claimed that since Avni had consumed 60 per cent of human bodies she was rightly classified as a man-eater.

Animal rights activists, on the other hand, said that all the human deaths attributed to Avni took place in areas where humans encroached upon forest land.

And so, the activists argued, Avni could not be called a man-eater since she did not actively enter human habitats and kill them.

The controversial hunt sparked petitions to the Supreme Court. The court was asked to prevent the Maharashtra Forest Department from implementing its shoot-to-kill order for Avni.

The Supreme Court refused to issue any such directions. The court, however, did note that the Forest Department could kill Avni only as a last resort.

So, was Avni killed last as a "last resort"? Here is what a police officer told news agency PTI about what happened last night:

Avni was shot dead in Mahrashtra's Yavatmal district

• Forest officers spread the urine of another tigress and an American perfume to lure Avni
• The olfactory baits worked and Avni came sniffing by
• The forest officers then tried to nab Avni alive but were unable to do so due to the darkness and dense undergrowth
• Then, Asgar Ali, the son of controversial shooter Nawab Shafat Ali fired a shot that felled Avni
• Avni was then taken to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead

'MURDER'

The killing of Avni has evoked sharp reactions on social media. Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray posted a strongly worded statement in which he called Avni's killing a murder and said that the Ministry of Forests should be renamed to Ministry of Poaching.

Thackeray questioned why a tranquilising dart was not used when a "perfect" shot to kill Avni was possible.

Let’s rename the Ministry of Forests as Ministry of Poaching. It’s anyway a sham! #Avni pic.twitter.com/NPFg9KLLz4 Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) November 3, 2018

Thackeray also questioned the involvement of "this blood thirsty hunter". Thackeray did not name the hunter but he was likely talking about Nawab Shafat Ali.

THE CONTROVERSIAL HUNTER

Avni's death is unlikely to dispel the controversy around the hunt to track her down. And the questions raised by the animal rights activists still remain.

The involvement of Nawab Shafat Ali, a sharpshooter with a controversial past, was among the chief controversy points surrounding the hunt for Avni.

Ali, activists allege, is trigger happy and has a fetish for killing big cats. Questions were raised about why the government chose to involve a private hunter instead of an expert who could tranquilise the tigress.

READ | Hunt for man-eating tiger Avni sparks chorus for presidential pardon

After controversy erupted over Ali's involvement, the Union government reportedly intervened. A Mid-Day report from September 2018 said that Union minister Maneka Gandhi, who is an animal lover, had gotten Ali thrown off the hunt for Avni.

"Maneka Gandhi had a word with state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar regarding the tigress... Nawab Shafat Ali is no longer a part of this operation," Mid-Day quoted the Mahrashtra Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) - Wildlife, AK Misra, as saying.

However, Mid-Day reported on October 8 that Nawab Shafat Ali had rejoined the hunt for Avni in an "unofficial" capacity. This is evident from this video where Ali is heard and seen briefing mediapersons on the hunt for Avni.

INTENT TO KILL?

Questions were also raised about whether the Maharashtra forest department was actually doing all it could to catch Avni alive.

The forest department has maintained that it was. Officials from the department said that their goal was to tranquilise and nab Avni alive.

However, animal rights activists remained unconvinced prompting the petition to the Supreme Court asking it to intervene and forbid Maharashtra from killing Avni.

And, perhaps the most important question that remains unanswered is what now will happen to Avni's two cubs who have just lost their mother.

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