Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Monday expressed grief over the demise of Indias first tigress to be radio-collared, who died at the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh on January 15.
Reacting to the death of the tigress, aptly named 'Collarwali', Tendulkar tweeted, "Wildlife lovers and enthusiasts will understand how heart-breaking it is when a majestic tigress goes into silence forever. Rest in peace, #Collarwali."
The last rites of the tigress were performed with full respect by the officials of the Pench Tiger Reserve in Chhindwara district which attracted a huge crowd on Sunday.
'Collarwali', who also earned the title of super mom after giving birth to 29 cubs, lived for 17 years and died of prolonged illness.
The average age of a tiger is about 12 years, said Ashok Kumar Mishra, field director, Pench Tiger Reserve.
"The post-mortem revealed multiple organ failure due to intestine blockage resulting from old age as the cause of death. Her intestine was blocked with mud and hair," said Mishra.
'Collarwali' was the first-ever tigress to be radio-collared at Pench. After the collar stopped functioning, she was again radio-collared in 2010 and that is why she earned her name 'Collarwali' or T15 tigress.
She had first given birth to three cubs in 2008, but they could not survive. For the last time, the tigress delivered four cubs in 2018, which took the number of her cubs to 29, out of which 25 survived.