Ranthambore tigress spotted with three cubs

There is  good news from the Ranthambore National Park giving enough reason for tiger conservationists to celebrate. A tigress has been spotted with her three cubs taking the total number of tigers in the park to 50.

Forest and wildlife department officials said  that tigress Sundari (T17) was spotted with her three cubs at Rajbagh Talab in Ranthambhore National Park on Friday.

“There had been speculation for some time that Sundari had  cubs but they were not sighted. This morning, the cubs were seen with the tigress. Sundari – the name given to T17 tigress by the Rajasthan forest and wildlife minister Bina Kak  – was normally seen in the terrain around the Padam Talab, Rajbagh Talab, Malik Talab and KachitaValley,” said an official. District Forest Officer (DFO) Y K Sahu said that Sundari had been fitted with the radio collar in 2008. However, the collar had become non-functional two years ago.

Freedom and procreation

Bina Kak, on taking over as the Minister of Forest& Environment, had directed that the collar be removed since it was not functional. “Sundari had been mating for the last many years but had not given a litter. After  the collar was removed Sundari had conceived this time,” he said.

Another  tiger cub was sighted at the Ranthambhore National Park on May this year. The cub about  two-three  months old  was seen following its mother (T-39) in Sultanpur forest the block of the national park.

With this new addition the total number of tigers in the park has now reached 50 which include 26 adults (12 males and 14 females ) and 24 cubs,according to the wildlife authorities at Ranthambore National Park.