Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Sep 25 (IANS): A carcass of an adult male tiger was fished out from Hardoi feeder canal near Dandaul bridge by a joint team of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the forest and wildlife division.

It has been sent for autopsy to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly to ascertain the exact cause of death.

The carcass was spotted around 300 metre from the core area of PTR in Deuria forest range. The tiger's age would have been between six and eight years, according to its canine teeth.

Range officer of Puranpur forest division, Ayyub Hassan, said that he received news of the tiger's carcass in the canal late on Wednesday evening.

PTR Deputy Director Naveen Khandelwal said, adding that the condition of the fur shows that the carcass had remained in water for not more than 10 to 12 hours.

Sources said that according to initial autopsy findings, the tiger had a fracture and injuries in its right foreleg while certain abdominal injuries were also present which indicate that the big cat was probably hit by a speeding vehicle.

"We will send the photographs of the tiger's carcass to the Wildlife Institute of India to find out precisely as to which forest region it actually belonged to. The carcass has drifted a long way due to the heavy water flow in the canal," Khandelwal said.