MP: Tiger cub found dead in Bandhavgarh reserve

A Bengal tiger cub was killed in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. (Source: Reuters/Representational)

Attempts by a tigress to teach her young ones how to hunt a buffalo went wrong when one of her three cubs was killed in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. While the domestic buffalo did not survive the tiger’s attack, it is likely that the 200-kg bovine fell on the cub, rupturing its organs, according to a senior forest officer. The mother tried to lick her cub to life, while the two other cubs watched from close quarters when forest officials reached the spot in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve on Thursday.

The post mortem is yet to ascertain the cause of the cub’s death. Meanwhile, three other cubs, who were rescued from Sanjay Tiger Reserve a week ago are being reared in an isolated room at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Their mother got electrocuted on January 14 near Sanjay Tiger Reserve during an attempt by villagers to kill wild boars, claim farmers who were arrested after burying the big cat’s carcass.

Forest officials had spotted the cubs on January 22. “They are being fed goat milk in an attempt to improve their health… We don’t want them to end up in a zoo and want to send them into the wild,’’ Bandhavgarh field director Mradul Pathak said.