Hunsur: Days after mother’s death, orphaned tiger cubs make their first kill

 

In a positive development, the three tiger cubs that were orphaned after their mother was killed by a snare earlier this week managed to successfully prey on a spotted deer.

Worried about the survival prospects of the orphaned cubs, aged 10-11 months, the forest department personnel were considering shifting them to a rescue centre for a brief period and later shifting them to a protected area with low risks. The possibility of them venturing into the territory of another big cat or a human habitat had also kept forest officials on alert and they had deployed 130 personnel, 4 elephants, 30 camera traps, and two drone cameras to search for the tiger cubs.

On Tuesday, the forest personnel came across the carcass of a spotted deer and installed camera traps in the location. The camera traps revealed the tiger cubs had come to the area to eat their prey.

Following this development, forest officials are hopeful that the cubs will manage to survive on their own.

Nagarhole Tiger Project Director Harsh Kumar Naragunda told Udayavani that the forest department would continue to monitor the movements of the tigers cubs and take appropriate measures for their protection.