India’s most famous tiger, 19-year-old Machli, has died, officials announced on Thursday.
Known as the Queen of Ranthambore, Machli was labelled as the world’s most photographed tiger.
She was named Machli, the Hindi word for fish, because of the distinctive fish-shaped markings on the left side of her face.
She featured in many documentaries and amazed viewers when her fight with a 14ft crocodile was caught on film.
She was one of the biggest draws for thousands of tourists visiting Ranthambore National Park, bringing in millions each year.
NOT EATEN IN DAYS
Machli was found starving and lying on her side near the park’s boundary in northern Rajasthan state. She had not eaten in days, officials said.
“We were trying to provide her treatment but she died,” Ranthambore tiger project director Yogesh Kumar Sahu told AFP. “It was a natural death linked to her age.”
Machli had slowed down in recent years and lost almost all of her teeth, according to the park’s website.
She was much past the average 10 to 15 years in age that royal Bengal tigers typically live.
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
Her death has made headlines in India and around the world, and fans have taken to social media to pay their respects to the Queen of Ranthambore.
India has more than half the world’s tigers, at 2,226 in the latest estimate, with the species being on the critically endangered list due to a decreasing population, mostly from illegal poaching.
Source: BBC
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