Three more tiger cubs found dead in the Nilgiris

Forest department officials conducting an investigation into the deaths of two tigers, at least one of which was poisoned, in Emerald in the Nilgiris district recently
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Three more tiger cubs were found dead in the Nilgiris since Sunday, September 17, bringing the death toll of tigers recorded in the district to nine animals in just over a month. Forest department officials said that one more cub has been rescued from the area in Chinna Coonoor in Kadanad, and is being treated.

According to officials, one cub was found dead in Kadanad, in the interface between the Nilgiris forest division and the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on late Sunday evening and a postmortem was conducted on Monday. Field Director of MTR and Conservator of Forests (Nilgiris), D. Venkatesh, said that there were signs that the cub had not been feeding, which had led to its death.

“We immediately formed teams to perambulate the area and search for the mother and three other cubs that had been spotted in the area on September 14,” said Mr. Venkatesh.

After a thorough search of the area, forest staff came upon the carcasses of two other tiger cubs, while one was still alive. “We have ordered that a post-mortem be conducted on the bodies of the two cubs, while the one which is still alive has been rescued and in the safe custody of the forest department,” Mr. Venkatesh added.

He said that staff had also discovered the carcass of a sambar deer in the area which they suspect has been hunted and killed by the adult tiger and mother of the four cubs. “We have fixed camera traps around the carcass to see if the animal returns, so we can ensure that its safe and in good health,” added Mr. Venkatesh.

Two teams of forest staff, including personnel from Gudalur have been deployed around the area to find the adult tigress. They suspect that the mother of the four tigers is an adult named MDT234, which has been spotted in Segur and Kadanad over the last few years, and has also been photographed in the area recently.

With the death of the three cubs, the total number of tigers that have died in the Nilgiris now stands at nine animals in just over a month. The fatalities include five tiger cubs, and four adult animals, with conservationists raising concerns that not enough is being done to understand the reasons for the increase in number of tiger deaths in the district.

A conservationist, on the condition of anonymity, said that while tigers are known to abandon their cubs, such instances were quite rare. “As the cubs seem to have been in good health, it is strange that the tigress would have chosen to abandon them as claimed by the forest department. Even if that was the case, officials and staff should ensure that the mothers are tracked to ensure that they are safe and have not fallen victim to poachers or other factors, as at least one of the nine dead tigers recorded recently in the Nilgiris have confirmed to have been poisoned,” stated the conservationist.