Two tiger cubs found dead in Sigur reserve forest

UDHAGAMANDALAM: Two tiger cubs, aged less than 6 months, were found dead in the Sigur reserve forest near Anaikatty in the Nilgiris north division, on Friday.

While one carcass was completely decayed, the other was partially decomposed. Forest officials were unable to identify the sex of the cub whose carcass was decayed beyond recognition. The other was a male. The bodies were found during a routine patrolling by forest staff.

According to N Soundarapandian, district forest officer (north division), both cubs were apparently killed by a male tiger of that region. "External injuries were found on both," said the official.

Forest veterinary doctor N Manoharan, who conducted the postmortem, said that one cub had died within the last 24 hours and the other a few hours earlier than that. "Both had sustained skull injuries as well as dislocation of bones on the neck. There was also a big hole in the skull of one the dead cubs," he said.

Manoharan suspected that the attack could be a result of a rivalry between two grown up male tigers within the same area.

"The attack may have been instigated due to some rivalry or previous fight. The cubs may have been that of another male in the same territory," he said.

The postmortem was conducted inside the forest on Friday as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the presence of forest officials, a representative of NTCA, and local NGOs. After the postmortem, the carcasses were burnt inside the protected area. With the death of these two tiger cubs, nine big cats have been reported dead in the Nilgiri forests, including the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, in the past 11 months.