Mandla (MP), Apr 26 (PTI) A tiger cub was found dead in the Sarhi zone of the Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Madhya Pradesh, taking the count of such fatalities in the facility to three in the past five days, officials said on Sunday.
Overall, Madhya Pradesh, which had 785 tigers as per a 2022 Census and the highest in the country, has lost 24 big cats, including cubs, since January 7, when the first death was reported in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.
Among the 24 fatalities, ten tigers, including the three cubs, have died since April 2 when a tiger was found dead in the forested area of Burhanpur, according to officials.
The female cub was found dead on Saturday evening, and the carcass was sent to Jabalpur for postmortem, KTR field director Ravindra Mani Tripathi told PTI.
He said all three deceased cubs belonged to the Amahi area tigress (T-141).
Officials said a male cub was found dead near Amahi nulla in Sarhinakan beat on April 21, with the cause of death reported as natural. Another male cub was found dead on April 23 in a decomposed condition near Intawara nulla.
All three cubs are around one, officials said, adding that they are now concerned over the fourth cub of the tigress.
Preliminary findings suggest that the tigress may be weak and unable to hunt, raising the possibility of cubs dying due to starvation, officials said, adding that the exact causes could be ascertained after an investigation.
The tigress is being monitored and provided supplementary diet to improve her condition, they said.
With these incidents, the number of tiger deaths in KTR has risen to four in April, including one adult tigress that died on April 5 in Kanhari beat, reportedly due to infighting. PTI COR LAL NSK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.