BHOPAL: A translocated tigress gave birth to two cubs in Panna Tiger Reserve upping the big cat population there, forest officials said.
A tigress brought to Panna from the Kanha Tiger Reserve gave birth to the cubs and the new guests are around two months old and appeared to be healthy, a top official of forest department told PTI today.
This tigress airlifted from Kanha was put in the wild in March 2009 but was not responding to the advances of the lone translocated big cat in the reserve initially, spread over an area of 543 sq km in Panna and Chhattarpur districts of eastern Madhya Pradesh, he said.
Now, with the birth of two cubs, the number of it has gone upto four in the Panna.
A tigress brought from Bandhavgarh and put in the wild of Panna on March 6, 2009 gave birth to four felines some months back. Out of four, two cubs died after they were attacked by the tiger, forest officials claimed.
There is one tiger in Panna and this big cat was brought from Pench Tiger Reserve was put in the wild on November 14 last year.
Two more tigresses from Kanha will be brought to Panna shortly. Thereafter, another tiger will be translocated in the park.
Panna Tiger Reserve, which once had more than 35 tigers, had become devoid of the big cat allegedly due to poaching last year. After this efforts are on to revive big cat population in Panna.
