Nagpur: One of three tiger cubs died while two are critical after the mother tigress went missing from the tourism zone in Khadsangi range of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) buffer.
One of the starving cubs was rescued on Wednesday from compartment number 56 after it was found in a weak condition, but it died before it could be taken to Chandrapur transit treatment centre (TTC). The cub was cremated as per NTCA guidelines.
Two more frail cubs were rescued on Thursday and are undergoing treatment. They are being fed chicken pieces and milk. Saline is being administered to the dehydrated cubs. Both the cubs are anaemic and sluggish.
As tiger numbers grow in Tadoba, they are becoming more vulnerable to threats. The four-month-old cubs were the first litter of famous tourist-friendly tigress Mayuri from Navegaon-Ramdegi and Alizanja area adjoining Tadoba.
“We sighted the three cubs playing on the roadside during the evening safari on October 19. We waited for around 1.5 hours for the mother to arrive but she didn’t. Today, we learnt the cubs have been captured and one died. This means the tigress must have gone missing before October 19,” said tourists Perseed Jall and Indraneel Mukherjee.
“A tigress is overly cautious about young cubs and leaves them for only a short period of time to drink and hunt. The tigress must have been poached or electrocuted or something bad must have happened to her,” said wildlife experts.
TATR deputy director (buffer) G Guruprasad said, “We are looking into all possibilities. We found tigress pugmarks near the spot where cubs were picked up. We are hopeful and an intensive hunt for the mother has been launched. At least 50 camera traps have also been installed to track the animal.”
“We will first try to trace the tigress and attempt to reunite the cubs. If the tigress is not traced in the next two days, we will also look into the poaching angle. There is a possibility that this being the first litter, the tigress may not know how to rear the cubs, or getting prey to feed them must be an issue. She may also have been lured by a male for mating,” Guruprasad added.
Tigress Mayuri is around four-year-old and was popular among tourists. “We are heartbroken as the tiger family was a source of livelihood for us. After a 7-month tourism lull due to Covid-19, we were expecting to build fortunes from good tiger sightings. Our hopes have been dashed now,” said guides and Gypsy drivers.
Wildlife lovers have questioned the lack of protection in the tiger habitat. “On one hand, we are opposing development projects around Tadoba to save tigers, and on the other, we are losing tigers due to the lackadaisical approach of protection staff. There is a full-fledged battalion of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF). Still tigers are not safe in one of the country’s premium parks,” said Chetan Jasani, a wildlife lover from Gondia.
In June this year, a gang of local villagers near Sitarampeth-Kondegaon Road in Mohurli buffer zone was arrested for poaching a tigress and her two cubs. Electrocution is also a big menace in Tadoba buffer zone.