In a tragic incident, a 6-year-old tigress and her cub were found dead on Tuesday in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan.
The tigress was a mother to three cubs, all of around two-and-half months. The other two cubs have been sent to Abheda Biological Park in Kota, said Sedu Ram Yadav, RTR, field director.
He said the tigress with her three cubs, was spotted on January 25 and since then, were under constant monitoring.
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On January 27, tigress roars were heard. The field staff had also placed milk and meat near them. He added that one of the three cubs was weak, and found dead on Wednesday morning in Todara forest block.
Yadav said, “This was the second litter of the tigress; she earlier had given birth to two litters, who are two-year-old. Normally, tigress doesn’t give a second litter that early.”
“When the mother wasn’t spotted, intense search was conducted, and was found dead today in Todara forest block, around 1.5km away from the cubs at 4pm. The body seems to be two-days old and could be result of territorial fight. The post mortem will be conducted on Wednesday,” he said.
The RTR field director said the tigress gave birth to the cubs in the mustard fields, and the cub died due to weakness. “After permission, the two cubs alive were sent to Abheda for proper care,” he said.
At present, the RTR has over 85 big cats.
