Nagpur/Bhandara: A 4-month old tiger cub was found dead on Tuesday afternoon while another was rescued near the right canal of Bawanthadi in Mandvi village under Lendezari Forest Range of Bhandara forest division near Nagpur. Unfortunately, the rescued cub also died while being treated at Gorewada Wildlife Rescue Centre in Nagpur on Wednesday. The third cub and its mother remain untraceable despite an intensive search operation.
Starvation is said to be the cause behind the two deaths. The vets at Gorewada said that the female cub was suffering from anaemia, dehydration and weakness due to starvation. It became critical at 6.45 am on Wednesday and died at 8.09 am.
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Wednesday12 Feb. 2025
As per information given by forest officials, villagers told them that a tiger cub was lying dead in the farm situated near the right canal of Bawanthadi in Mandvi village. Forest team under RFO Niranjan Vaidhya, joined by RFO Apeksha Shende (Jamkandri), reached the spot. In-charge DFO Pramodkumar Panchbhai, ACF Ritesh Bhongade accompanied with veterinarian Dr Anil Dashhare, CCF representative Shahid Pervez Khan and others also reached the spot.
The forest team tried to locate the mother tigress, but in vain. Later, the Forest team followed the SOPs as per the NTCA guidelines and took the carcass. According to Shahid Pervez Khan, some days ago, a tigress was caught in the camera trap with its cattle kill and perhaps these are her cubs. He stressed the need for proper monitoring by forest officials to save and secure the wildlife
The post-mortem of both cubs was conducted at the Wildlife Research & Training Centre (WRTC), Gorewada, and internal organ samples were sent for laboratory analysis. Following the post-mortem, the carcasses were completely incinerated following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). This incident marks the 14th tiger death in Maharashtra this year, raising serious concerns among wildlife conservationists.
Forest officials and conservationists are now looking for the third cub and its mother. Multiple camera traps have been installed and an intense search operation is underway.
