Big Cat Boom In MP's Bandhavgarh Reserve As Camera Traps Spot 41 Tiger Cubs There

In some good news from the conservation of India's national animal, foresters have spotted nearly 41 tiger cubs in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh.

According to officials, they have spotted a total of 41 tiger cubs in the protected area, including actual sightings and those identified from camera traps.

These tiger cubs, they said range from newborns to one-year-olds.

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"The forest staff after analysing the data has found over 41 tiger cubs, from newborns to one year olds, at BTR," principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Alok Kumar said.

As per the data, four eight to 10-month-old cubs were spotted in Kallavah beat, while 12 in the same age group were seen in Pator.

Similarly, five cubs of a tigress identified as T-17 were seen in Tala beat, four six-month-old cubs were spotted in Dhamakhor, while Panpatha core and buffer areas have two three-month-old big cats each, it was stated.

Apart from these, Bhanpur has two newborns, five cubs aged 10 to 12 months old were seen in Maghdi beat and four in the age group of eight to 12 months old in Khitouli, the official said, adding that two cubs were spotted in a cave in Badkheda beat.

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The BTR is also known as a nursery of tigers in the state and once they grow, adult big cats are shifted to places in and out of the state, where their density is low, Kumar said.

Bandhavgarh was declared a national park in 1968 and later as a tiger reserve in 1993. Spread across 716 sq km, the reserve is known for the highest density of tiger population.

While the sighting of 41 tiger cubs in BTR is a positive sign, the increase in the number of big cat deaths in protected areas in MP, know as India's tiger state is also a concern.

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This month alone four tiger deaths were reported from Madhya Pradesh.

Last week in a rare incident, authorities in Panna Tiger Reserve had come across a tiger taking care of its cubs after the tigress that gave birth to them died.

The PTR authorities released a video showing the tiger, officially called P-243, taking care of four cubs after their mother, tigress P213(32), died in the last fortnight.

In the video, the cubs can be seen playing on rocks and making themselves comfortable as the tiger moves among them.

Satisfaction of the Forester is to see a mother tiger with four cubs, this is an epitome of Panna Tiger Revival program. The population in Panna has reached over it's carrying capacity and this future generation suggests robust source population in the Landscape.@minforestmp pic.twitter.com/abpRW2muRR

¡ª Panna Tiger Reserve (@PannaTigerResrv) May 28, 2021

Tigress P213(32) was seen with a swelling on its left leg on May 12, and it was given medical treatment post tranquilization and released, but its carcass was found in PTR's Gahrighat range on May 15.

Interesting to know that a male tiger is taking care of 4 orphaned cubs after the death of their mother tigress. This observations has been made by the team of Panna Tiger Reserve, MP while monitoring cubs and a male radio collared tiger. VC: PTR MP pic.twitter.com/soH9Nbw7tg

¡ª Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) May 23, 2021

Before that the decomposed carcass of a tiger was found in a buffer zone of BTR on May 14 and On May 8, a tiger was found dead in the state's Kanha Tiger Reserve.

Besides, a dead sub-adult tiger (aged between 18 and 24 months) was found floating in a canal of an inter-state water project in Balaghat's Waraseoni tehsil on May 7.