TIRUPATI: The four tiger cubs abandoned by their mother at the Atmakur forest division in the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve were shifted to SV Zoological Park near Tirupati on Friday after multiple attempts by the forest department to reunite them with the tigress didn’t materialise for five days in a row.
The cubs were handed over to the zoo authorities around 7 am. Speaking to TNIE, SV Zoo veterinarian Dr Sathyaprakash Arun, who has been supervising the health condition of the cubs, said, “The primary clinical examination found that the 50-day-old cubs were on the weaker side. This could be because they got separated from the tigress.”
“We need to keep the cubs under observation for another two days to get a better picture of their health condition,” he added. On the diet being provided to the cubs, the veterinarian said, “The cubs are being fed milk and boiled meat every four hours as prescribed by the zoo health advisory committee.” He elaborated that the cubs have been avoiding consuming milk due to the sickness they have developed ever since they got separated from their mother.
The doctor further added, “A team of veterinarians from Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, comprising professors from 10 departments, have arrived to observe the medical condition of the cubs.”Speaking to TNIE, the Srisailam Field Director of Project Tiger (FDPT) Y Sreenivasa Reddy said they would follow a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to deal with the abandoned tiger cubs as per National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines.
Revealing the action plan to rehabilitate the tiger cubs, Sreenivasa Reddy said they would be fed milk, chicken and mutton in an enclosed space under strict supervision for the first six months.“Later, raw beef and chicken will be introduced to their diet. Following this initial period, the cubs will be allowed to roam in a natural forest area spanning over 100 hectare within the SV Zoological Park for the next 18 months,” he said.
“This phase will be critical as cubs will develop hunting and survival skills needed for their eventual release back into the wild. After two years, the four tigers will be brought back from Tirupati to the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) and will be released into the Nallamala forest,” the forest department official elaborated.It may be noted that they were spotted near Peddagummadapuram village under Atmakur forest on Monday.