UDHAGAMANDALAM: The spate of tiger deaths continues in Tamil Nadu, keeping the forest officials on tenterhooks.
The death of two tiger cubs in the Sigur range of the Nilgiris North Forest Division, bordering the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), on Friday has increased the concerns here. The anti-poaching watchers patrolling the Adicombai area came across the carcasses of the tiger cubs, six months and eight months old. This is the 14 incident of tiger death in the State this year, mostly in the three tiger reserves in the western region.
Almost all the cases are “under investigation” by the Forest Department, except the man-eater that was shot dead by the STF in Udhagamandalam, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Meanwhile, the post-mortem of the cubs has revealed that they were killed by a dominant male tiger to mate with the mother of the cubs. The cubs had died about 48 hours ago, Nilgiris North Division DFO Soundarapandian said.
According to him, the cubs may have become victims of a territorial fight or a fight relating to mating.
Activists say surveillance needs to be stepped up, particularly in the sensitive ranges like Sigur and Singara.
