Bibhav Behera
10-02-2011, 06:52 PM
A six-year-old tigress was found dead on Wednesday morning in the Kundera range of the Ranthambore National Park.
The tigress, referred to as T-5, had been sighted for the first time with her new cubs late last month in the Kachida area, bringing cheer to the park, which lost 10 tigers in the past year and a half.
She was found wounded last week, when state tourism minister Bina Kak spotted her, giving rise to fears that she had been in a fight with a tigress named T-17. The latter had been sighted in T-5' s territory in Kachida.
T-5 was treated following tranquilisation by doctors from Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur.
A post-mortem has been ordered to determine the cause of death.
Rajasthan's principal chief conservator of forests R. N. Mehrotra said the wound - near the anus of the big cat - had opened up and got infected by maggots.
The death of T-5, which gave five tigers to the park in her lifetime, has put a question mark on the survival of her three-month-old cubs.
"We have to capture them and keep them in captivity as they won't survive in the wild," Mehrotra said.
"The survival of the cubs is a challenge for the forest authorities," Rajpal Singh, a member of the state committee for wildlife, said.
However, a silver lining to the day was the sighting of the tigress T-31 with its two cubs. Mehrotra confirmed the sighting, adding that three or four new cubs were expected soon.
Recently seven cubs, including the two of T-5, have been sighted in the park.
Ranthambore tigress found dead (http://m.indiatoday.in/itwapsite/story?sid=129270&secid=4)
The tigress, referred to as T-5, had been sighted for the first time with her new cubs late last month in the Kachida area, bringing cheer to the park, which lost 10 tigers in the past year and a half.
She was found wounded last week, when state tourism minister Bina Kak spotted her, giving rise to fears that she had been in a fight with a tigress named T-17. The latter had been sighted in T-5' s territory in Kachida.
T-5 was treated following tranquilisation by doctors from Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur.
A post-mortem has been ordered to determine the cause of death.
Rajasthan's principal chief conservator of forests R. N. Mehrotra said the wound - near the anus of the big cat - had opened up and got infected by maggots.
The death of T-5, which gave five tigers to the park in her lifetime, has put a question mark on the survival of her three-month-old cubs.
"We have to capture them and keep them in captivity as they won't survive in the wild," Mehrotra said.
"The survival of the cubs is a challenge for the forest authorities," Rajpal Singh, a member of the state committee for wildlife, said.
However, a silver lining to the day was the sighting of the tigress T-31 with its two cubs. Mehrotra confirmed the sighting, adding that three or four new cubs were expected soon.
Recently seven cubs, including the two of T-5, have been sighted in the park.
Ranthambore tigress found dead (http://m.indiatoday.in/itwapsite/story?sid=129270&secid=4)