Two tiger cubs found dead in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

According to the Forest Department, the cubs were just two-weeks-old and their deaths were due to natural causes. The incident came to light during a routine patrol by the Forest Department staff and members of the anti-depredation team in morning. On receiving information, a team of Forest Department officials led by MTR field director Srinivasa Reddy reached the spot and held an examination. 

Forest Department staff believe that the two cubs could have been killed by a male tiger in a fight with their mother during the process of mating. 

“Female tigers usually carry their cubs clutched in their jaws. There is a possibility of a male tiger having entered into a fight with the female big cat and in the process attacked its cubs causing their death. Such deaths are natural in the forests,” said an official. 

Following an autopsy, the carcasses of the cubs were cremated by the Forest Department according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s Standard Operating Procedures. The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve has more than 60 leopards in its five ranges of Masinagudi, Theppakadu, Kargudi, Mudumalai and Nelakottai. The death of the two tiger cubs has come as a shock for the Forest Department, which has been spending crores towards conservation of the big cat. Veterinary experts are studying the circumstances that led to the death of the two cubs to prevent similar incidents in future.