The carcass of a black tigress was found today in Deniyaya after it got caught to a poacher’s snare, the Wild Life department said.

Its length from head to tail is three feet 7.5 inches. Height two feet. The tail alone had measured up to 2 feet 4 inches.

"From a distance, its colour is jet black and when inspected from a closer distance, spots are vaguely visible," Wadawalawa “Athathun Sevana” Vet Dr. Kumudini said. According to her, the tigress had not fully grown yet however because of the rarity of the species the exact age cannot be determined.

She also said that the black tigress showed signs that are common to the Panthara Pardus Kotiya species. According to Dr. Kumudini there had been a similar discovery of a black tiger from the Kalavana area some years ago, yet the carcass had been too decomposed to gain proper identification. There had been a few sightings of black tigers from Horton Plains and Sripada areas, she explained.

She claimed that further investigations are necessary to determine whether the creature is a subspecies or a non-agouti mutation of the Panthara Pardus Kotiya species.