Amidst reports of tiger deaths, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel with wildlife officials spotting over 112 big cat cubs in national parks across the country.
The Madhya Pradesh forest minister Sartaj Singh was off the mark when he said in a written reply to a question in the state Assembly on Monday that a tiger recently relocated from the Pench Tiger Reserve to Panna Tiger Reserve had been radio-collared and was being monitored constantly even when it had strayed outside the Park territory.
At least 11 tigers have died across the country in the last two months due to various reasons, including poaching and poisoning, the government said on Monday.
Is the fate of one more tiger reserve in jeopardy? The National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) decision to slice the Pench tiger reserve in two by building a fourlane highway (N.H. 7) through it could well mean the death knell for the 30 tigers living in this reserve.
A seven-year-old tiger was found dead at the Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Thursday.
"The tiger was found dead in a lake located in the Karmajhiri Range of the park on Wednesday. Prima facie, it appears to be a case of poisoning," Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) T R Sharma told reporters.
Two tiger cubs have died of cold in the Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Thursday.
"Severe cold conditions leading to lung congestion proved fatal for both the cubs, aged around one-andhalf months", the park's deputy director, A.P.
The Maharashtra Forest Department has given its nod for the widening of the National Highway 7 stretch that passes within the eco-sensitive zone of Pench National Park.
Amid reports of declining tiger population nationwide, there is still hope for wildlife lovers and forest officials in Madhya Pradesh as the number of tiger cubs is increasing. Madhya Pradesh is known as Tiger State, but the average number of tigers came down to 300 in the last census.
