JAIPUR: The loss of two adult tigers and two cubs in less than a month has set alarm bells ringing at Rajasthan’s third tiger reserve, the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) in Kota. A four-month injured male cub which was rescued and shifted to the Kota Zoo for treatment died on Tuesday.
“The cub died of hemorrhagic shock due to excessive bleeding,” said an official who conducted the postmortem examination. The cub was buried in the zoo premises. The cub’s mother, MT-2, was found dead on August 3 and the cub’s sibling, MT-4, has not been seen since May 22, forcing the experts to believe the cub may be dead. Forest officials, though, have not officially confirmed MT-4’s death.
Earlier, a tiger MT-3 was found dead on July 23. According to forest officials, MT-3 was unable to move for several days. The loss in barely four weeks has put a serious question mark over conservation efforts at Mukundra.
MT-3 died because of multiple organ failure, according to a report from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute. The postmortem report of MT-2 ruled out poisoning as the cause of death. The Mukundra reserve is the third tiger reserve in Rajasthan. It was created with portions of wildlife sanctuaries of Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar and Chittorgarh. Spread across 759 sq km area, it is located in the south-eastern part of Kota.
The park got the approval of the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2013 and became home to four tigers which were shifted there from Ranthambore. Now it is left with only two adult tigers. The state government has set up an administrative inquiry into the circumstances leading to the tiger deaths.