Cubs of T-5 tigress spotted Anindo Dey, TNN

JAIPUR: The two cubs of T-5, which died in Ranthambore on Wednesday, have been spotted by forest department officials on Thursday.

Both cubs are in good health and are spotted on a hilltop, officials said. "They consumed some dressed meat and water. But when we tried to catch them, they ran way. We will not be chasing them now as it might scare them away from the area and make it more difficult to catch them. We will wait for them instead," a forest official said.

"We have designed a special cage for the cubs in which we hope to keep them after we catch them. But plans thereafter are yet to be framed," state chief wildlife warden H M Bhatia said.

He said the department is in consultation with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to take care of the cubs, which have also been caught by a trap camera.

R N Mehrotra, principal chief conservator of forest and head of forest forces, however, ruled out the possibility of keeping the cubs in a zoo. "There is no point keeping them in a zoo. It has been ruled out," he said.

Officials said the best place for the cubs would be the already existing enclosure at the Sariska reserve. "Safety of the cubs is our prime concern and Sariska promises to be a better place for them than Ranthambore. We will hand raise them for some years in a protected cage. After that whether we leave them in Sariska or bring them back to Ranthambore will be decided," an official said.

He said raising the two cubs would be a difficult task but the Ranthambore staff had already looked after at least two cubs in the past. "The Guda tigress had died around September 1, 2007 leaving behind two cubs. These cubs, later renamed T-36 and T-37, were hand raised by the staff at Ranthambore.

"Of course, the cubs then were about one or two moths older than these ones. We brought them up till they were two years old and then released them. I remember their first kill was a goat and though they were not good at all then but nature slowly taught them. The T-36 tiger is still alive and is with the T-42 male in the Quwalji area," the official said.

"In 2001-02, the Bairda tigress, too, had died and her cubs were raised by our staff Ranjit, who is still serving with us. He may be assigned the task for these cubs too. The Ranthambore staff are experienced in such cases and they can do a good job," he added.

T-5, popularly known as Kachida tigress, died on Wednesday. She underwent an emergency surgery recently at the Ranthambore National Park after tourism minister Bina Kak spotted it with a wound on its rear.