KURNOOL: Four female tiger cubs aged about one month were rescued near Peddagummadapuram village in Kothapalli mandal of Atmakur Forest Division in Nandyal district on Monday.
The efforts of the officials to send back the cubs into the forest in order to reunite with their mother failed throughout the day. Following this, they were kept under the supervision of veterinary doctors.
According to forest officials, a villager went to the agriculture fields near Peddagummadapuram village when he spotted the four cubs at around 6.30 am. He immediately alerted the villagers who rushed to the spot.
Meanwhile, the sight of the cubs was a feast for the eyes of the villagers who took selfies with the little ones. Locals said that the cubs were searching and crying for their mother, while feeling tired and hungry.
Search operation underway to reunite cubs with tigress
The villagers waited for some time in the surrounding area and as there was no sight of the tigress, the villagers shifted the cubs to a nearby house to ensure that they were not attacked by stray dogs.
On information, forest officials led by Atmakur Division Forest Officer (DFO) Alenchan Teran rushed to the spot and began a search operation for the tigress.
The officials tried to send them back into the forest for at least five-six hours. But after their failed efforts, the officials shifted them to a nearby forest wildlife veterinary hospital at around 3 pm. Forest officials are in the search of the tigress to reunite the cubs.
The NSTR is spread over 5,937 km. The Nallamala forest is spread in Nandyal, Kurnool, Guntur and Prakasam districts of AP and Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts in neighbouring Telangana. The core area of the tiger reserve is 2,444 km. As per official records, there are nearly 74 tigers living in the NSTR across the two States. It is estimated that 55 per cent of the tiger population is in Nallamala forest and half of those tigers live in the Atmakur division of Nandyal district.