NILGIRIS: Two weeks-old tiger cubs were found dead at Segur forest range in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Wednesday. The carcasses were noticed by the field-level staff at 3.30 pm. Officials waited till Thursday hoping the tigress could turn up, but it did not.
Following this, a postmortem was carried out by veterinarians Rajesh Kumar of Theppakkadu and Priyanka of Masinagudi. According to forest department sources, the postmortem did not reveal the cause of death and officials have ruled out the possibility of poisoning.
Further, sources said there was no external injury on the cubs indicating they were not attacked by another carnivore. Their stomachs were empty and officials opine that the cubs might have been abandoned by the mother. The sex of the cubs could not be identified as they are just a few weeks old. Sources said one cub died a day ago and another one might have died five days earlier.
“There was no symptom of poisoning. We will be sending samples of the organs for lab analysis to ascertain the exact cause of death,” an official said. Officials did not recover the skin or nails from the animals. and the carcasses were burnt as per National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines.
According to an expert, “There may be many reasons behind the mother abandoning her cubs. It could be either suffering from a disease or another tiger might have chased the mother and the cubs. We cannot pinpoint the cause of the death.” Meanwhile, a seven-year-old tigress died following a fight with a tiger inside the tea estate in Mudimandhupirivu in Naduvattam forest range in Nilgiris on Thursday.