3 tiger cubs die of starvation in Bandipur; 1 rescued

Two of the three tiger cubs which were rescued from the Nugu wildlife range under Hediyala sub-division, Bandipur tiger reserve on Sunday, have died.

While one cub died on the spot, the other died at Mysuru zoo. One male cub is under observation at the zoo. On Monday, another tiger cub was found dead at a distance of 500 metres from where the other three cubs were spotted.

After post-mortem, veterinarians said that the cubs died of starvation. The young ones might be one month old, they said. The mother tiger might have got separated from the cubs a few days after delivering them. Hence, they could not get food and had turned weak, they said.

The Forest department personnel who spotted the cubs found that they were very weak.

They immediately brought it to the notice of the higher officials and shifted the cubs to Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens in Mysuru. However, one cub died on reaching the zoo. The surviving cub is being taken care of,” said assistant range forest officer K Paramesh.

Bandipur Tiger Project director S R Natesh said a combing operation was conducted at the place where the cubs were found.

“Pug marks of an adult tiger have been found. Efforts are on to trace the mother. There is also a possibility that the tigress abandoned the cubs after finding them to be infected. Cameras have been installed around the place and personnel have been deployed to keep a vigil,” he said.