Four tiger cubs found dead in Tadoba reserve
NAGPUR: Four tiger cubs were found dead in Shivni forest range, a buffer zone in Chandrapur’s Tadoba tiger reserve, on Saturday morning. This comes three days after the carcass of a tigress, who is suspected to be their mother, was found in the same area, forest officials said.
“The carcasses of the cubs, who were about 3-4 months old, were found in forest compartment number 265 under Shivni forest range. The suspected mother [T-75] of the cubs was found dead in the same area on Wednesday,” Jitendra Ramgaonkar, field director of Tadobaandhari tiger project, said.
Bite marks on the cubs - two females and two males - indicated that they were killed by a tiger.
Ramgaonkar said a team led
Pby the Shivni range forest officer, along with a rapid response team, who had been monitoring the cubs since their birth, on Friday spotted a male tiger in the vicinity. “They found the four carcasses this morning.”
The forest and rapid action teams have noted the presence of two tigers and a tigress in the area, he said.
The carcasses were brought to transit treatment centre (TTC) in Chandrapur for postmortem, field director said, adding the tissue samples of the cubs and the tigress would be analysed using DNA identification methods.
Ramgaonkar and other senior officials of the wildlife wing are currently camping in the jungle to investigate the incident. Further, camera traps were placed to intensify the monitoring of the area. Field personnel were also deployed.
Environmentalist and former honorary wildlife warden Bandu Dhotre, who stays in Chandrapur, said, “These cubs were spotted for the first time on December 1. The forest department is still finding out who their mother is, with the help of DNA samples. These cubs were not even recorded by the forest department earlier.’’ Tadoba is one of the oldest national parks in the country. It spreads over 1,727 square km and contains some of the best forest tracks endowed with rich biodiversity.
Along with over 120 tigers, it is the home to rare Indian animals, including leopards, wild dogs, hyenas, wild boar, sloth bears, and bison.
(With inputs from Yogesh Naik)
The news of the death of four tiger cubs in the Sheoni range of Tadoba-andhari Tiger Reserve has moved one and all. Wildlife lovers in India are known for their passion, and when the matter concerns the death of a tiger, emotions run high and wide. Within minutes, social media reverberates with million of messages – some quoting the official statement of the forest department, others squarely blaming the department for not doing its duty well, some blaming local communities for their intolerance, some remove their anger on the rapid-paced development, and some blame the increase in tiger numbers for the escalating conflict between tigers – virtually everyone has a point of view.
In less than a week, deaths of six tigers comprising one adult tigress and five cubs, in three separate instances, have been reported from the buffer zone of one of India’s most coveted tiger reserves. For obvious reasons, this has put the forest department on high alert.
A forest patrolling team reported the first casualty from a patch of forest that is interspersed with agricultural land in the southeastern portion of the TATR buffer, on November 30. The highly decomposed body was identified as that of a 14-15-year-old resident tigress T75. The condition of the carcass indicated that she was probably dead 3-4 days earlier. From prima facie evidence, foul play was ruled out as all her teeth, limbs and nails (which are targeted by poachers) were found intact.
Nevertheless, as per the law, body tissue samples of the tigress were sent for detailed lab examination to ascertain the cause of death (results are awaited). As per NTCA guidelines, every tiger death in India is attributed to poaching unless it is unambiguously proven otherwise.
On the very next day, a 6 to 7-month-old cub was found dead with lacerations on its dorsal side, from the southwestern part of the buffer zone, in the Agarzhari area, by another patrolling team. While the body was sent for postmortem and subsequently tissues for lab investigation, the injury marks indicated that it had been attacked by another carnivore, probably a tiger.
And even as the ashes from the incinerated remains of the two tigers hadn’t cooled down, there was a heart-wrenching discovery of dead bodies of four three to four-month-old cubs not very far from the location of the dead adult tigress.
From the photographs circulating on social media, it seems to be the work of a tiger. Coincidentally, these cubs had been spotted near a waterbody by the forest staff as well as a tourist vehicle on separate occasions, a couple of days earlier.
Based on the knowledge of safari drivers/guides that enter from the Pangdi gate, and the forest staff, the area currently supports at least two adult males and two females, of which one was T75. Prior to the sighting of these four cubs, there was no knowledge of their existence.
As per my discussion with people present on ground zero, the postmortem revealed that the cubs were freshly killed and there was half-digested food in the stomach of at least two of them. This indicates that they had eaten not many hours ago. Such tiny cubs are incapable of hunting on their own and hence it is quite likely that their mother is alive. This means that the diseased adult tigress, in all probability, is not the mother of these cubs.
Before jumping to conclusions, one must know that tiger ecology is complex. Thanks to data coming in from camera trapping and radio-collared tigers, we know that the territories of tigers are not as watertight as earlier thought. This means, at any given time there could be multiple adult tigers of both genders, using the same area. In the present case too, it is quite likely that apart from the individuals that are conclusively known to be using this area, there may be a few more individuals that are visiting this area, though infrequently.
Also, several decades of research from India have shown that infant mortality, even in the most undisturbed tiger habitats, is very high – as much as 70 per cent, which means that 70 out of 100 tiger cubs born in the wild do not survive beyond the first year. Additionally, this high mortality rate is largely due to attacks by adult males, males other than the father of the cubs. There is constant competition between adult male tigers to expand their reign. In doing so, the resident male is frequently challenged by incoming suitors.
As long as he can hold onto his territory, all the cubs that he has sired are safe. However, if he loses to another male, the victor will systematically seek out his cubs and kill each one of them. Of course, a tigress will try her level best to keep her cubs out of harm’s way, but it is not easy as a male tiger can easily be 80-100 kilograms heavier than her. Hence, the forest department will have to search for the mother of the cubs, who in all likelihood, will visit the location where they were killed. They will also have to use genetics to rule out the relatedness between the cubs and the dead tigress. The adult males in the area will also come to investigate the site and hence all the forest staff should be withdrawn from the area.
Forensics and camera trap images together can provide the material to piece together the real truth of what happened at that fateful hour.