Abandoned weak cub to be shifted to Kanha on Sept 1

TNN | Aug 30, 2012, 05.35AM IST BHOPAL: A cub, which was abandoned by a tigress in the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) would be taken to - Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) on Saturday, September 1, for its rehabilitation. "The date for shifting the six-month cub has been finalised and it would be taken to KTR in a specially designed vehicle with park veterinarian and a divisional forest officer keeping a watch on it. The striped-animal will be first put in a house for some months, thereafter in an enclosure before releasing it in the wild," PTR field director RS Murthy told TOI. More than three months ago, a tigress, T-1 abandoned the cub in the PTR after which the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) asked the MP forest department to shift it to Van Vihar national park and animal rescue and rehabilitation here. But the forest officials had asked the NTCA that it wants to shift the animal to KTR, which was cleared. T-1 gave birth to the cub along with three other cubs in a cave of PTR on February 16. On March 29, the tigress shifted to another cave some 2 km away from the first one, but didn't carry the weak cub. But, it returned to its previous cave on April 2 and fed this abandoned cub. This time around also, T-1 didn't take the cub with it after which the PTR authorities with electronic gadgets, kept a close watch on it and when its condition deteriorated it was rescued from the cave on April 12 and kept in a well-equipped room in PTR. Felines usually abandon their cubs when they turn weak, according to wildlife experts. All preparations have to be made for keeping the cub in KTR, officials said. Kanha sanctuary employees have mastered the technique of hand-rearing cubs by successfully raising two orphaned tigresses. KTR is having housing and an enclosure in which two orphaned tigresses were reared and later on translocated to PTR to revive big cat population. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Abandoned-weak-cub-to-be-shifted-to-Kanha-on-Sept-1/articleshow/15974738.cms