One of India’s most iconic wild tigers, Arrowhead of Ranthambore, has died after a long battle with illness, shortly after her daughter was relocated following fatal attacks.
Arrowhead, also called Lady of the Lake for her crocodile hunting skills, was found dead near Jogi Mahal in the Ranthambore reserve in western India on Thursday. She was around 14 years old.
The tigress, officially designated T-84, had reportedly suffered from a bone tumour. She had stopped eating on Monday and appeared extremely thin and weak in her final video. An autopsy confirmed multiple organ failure.
Forest officials cremated her body following National Tiger Conservation Authority protocols, with a gathering of wardens, wildlife photographers, and local conservationists present.
The tigress, named for the distinct arrow-shaped mark on her cheek, was known for her fierce independence and unusual hunting skills, including eating crocodiles. Just days before her death, she was reportedly seen taking down a crocodile near Padam Talab, in a powerful echo of her grandmother, Machhli, Ranthambore’s most famous big cat and original “crocodile hunter.”
Arrowhead’s final moments were captured by Sachin Rai, a wildlife photographer who had tracked her since she was a cub.
“It was heartbreaking to see her struggle, attempting to rise and take a few feeble steps before collapsing again,” he wrote in a post accompanying video footage.
“Eventually, she reached a tree and lay beneath it. In that quiet moment, I knew in my heart that the end was near.”
Arrowhead was the daughter of tigress Krishna and had inherited a prime territory in the reserve around Padam Talab. She raised ten cubs from four litters, and six of them survive her.
She had several confrontations with male tigers over the years and even her own daughter, Riddhi, who eventually displaced her.
Arrowhead’s death came just hours after another of her daughters, Kankati, was tranquilised and relocated to the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. Kankati had recently been involved in fatal attacks on a forest ranger and a 7-year-old child.
“It is a disheartening coincidence that she passed away on the same day when her daughter was being shifted,” field director Anoop K R said, according to the Hindustan Times.
Arrowhead’s death sparked an outpouring of tributes. Ranthambore’s Instagram account posted: “She was a symbol of grace, strength and motherly spirit.”
Mr Rai echoed the sentiment, calling her “a true tigress in every sense”.
“Arrowhead was a symbol of wild grace, of power tempered by patience, of survival against all odds,” he said.
For many in India’s wildlife conservation community, Arrowhead’s death marks the end of an era – another link to Machhli lost. Her legacy, though, is being carried forward by the next generation of big cats.
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