Another tiger birth in Ranthambore?

JAIPUR: Close on the heels of the birth of two new cubs at the Ranthambore tiger reserve in the recent past, there could be some more good news in store. Indications are that another big cat may have given birth to some cubs. Though officials did not confirm it, pugmarks of cubs are said to have been seen in the area.

"The tigress was recently sighted in the Kachida area and it seems she has given birth to some cubs. The inference gained credence after pugmarks of some cubs were also sighted in the area."

The tigress may be the T-5, said to be the mother of male tigers T-6 and T-7. The area also houses the T-8 tigress. But sources say that all the three big cats are out of the area currently and so there will not be any threat to the new born cubs.

Officials of the forest department, however, refuted the claims on the grounds that there were no scientific evidences suggesting the birth of the cubs. But what officials have done is to fit camera traps in a large portion of the reserve to take pictures of the cubs and tigers.

"We have about 30 camera traps and we have borrowed some from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun. These have been fixed at the park. But this is not for taking pictures of the cubs. This is an annual thing that scientists of the WII are doing. It would take about 20 days to cover the entire park," said RP Gupta, DFO Ranthambore.

Sources also said that the T-5 tigress was seen mating during the monsoon and the forest department has been expecting the birth of these cubs. "Tiger cubs come out in the open only after about four months of their birth. And till there is actual sighting or a picture, we cannot say that cubs have been born, and in this case we have neither," officials added.

The birth of the cubs would be a big respite for officials of the state forest department that has been fighting hard to explain numerous tigers straying away from the Ranthambore tiger reserve. Added to that, the death of the first relocated tiger ST-1 to Sariska has been a big jolt.

Moreover, there has been a lull at Ranthambore after 2008 that saw the birth of some cubs. The next two years failed to see any new born allegedly due to a skewed sex ratio at the park.