12-year-old tigress had delivered four litters over the years. She was considered to be the matriarch of the forest and was named Baghin Nulla, after marking the area as her territory. Her last litter had four cubs off which two were found dead with their mother after a search operation. The other two cubs are reportedly missing. The cubs were only 8 months old.
The cause of death in the tiger family according to post - mortem reports seems to be poisoning, either from drinking contaminated water or feeding on toxic animal remains. While it isn't clear what actually caused the fatal poisoning, security has been beefed up with more patrolling and an investigation in order to find the source of the poison and the offenders. The forest department is on the receiving end of a lot of pressure from wildlife conservationists, demanding answers on what the poison in the water source is, as there are two more tigers who roam the vicinity. According to Times Of India, a team of wildlife conservationists and naturalists has been dispatched to observe the post - mortem.
Tourists reported that the tigress was seen lying down and unmoving, in the evening around 6:20 p.m on the external road of Baghin Nulla. Witnesses saw an excavator entering the reserve to carry out road repair work in the inner Baghin Nulla Road, and also saw some labourers approaching the tigress so that they could take photographs. The witnesses then realized that the tiger was dead and notified the officials immediately.
The next day, the bodies of the two cubs and a deer were discovered lying 50 metres from the spot where the tigress was found. They were found by a team of forest officers and a dog squad. The search is on to find the other two cubs as officials are certain that one of them is still alive. The blame is being put on the construction work in the area as it may have caused disturbance to the tiger family. Though there are two water bodies in that area, the tigress may have searched for another water body because of all the construction work in her regular territory. It is reported that the workers for the construction company and the machinery they used, have vanished after the tigers were found dead.
Source: The Times of India
              The New Indian Express
Name of the magazine: Sanctuary Asia.
