Rajasthan minister steps in to save tiger

JAIPUR: It was a happy reunion for tigress T-5 and her cubs on Friday morning at the Ranthambore national park. Timely action saved them from death.

Out for photography at the park, state tourism minister Beena Kak on Thursday spotted the three with the help of the powerful camera. ‘‘The tigress was restless inside a pond. I zoomed in and saw a red mark on its back,’’ said the minister.

It turned out to be a deep, life-threatening wound that had invited hundreds of maggots. At stake was not only the animal’s life but also that of its two cubs. What followed was an hour-long operation on Thursday before the tigress was back with her cubs again.

‘‘I felt disturbed when I saw what I had clicked. I went back to where I had seen the tigress first. I took some more close ups and realized that blood was oozing out of the wound. I called up the divisional forest officer,’’ said the minister.

Once confirmed that this was a fresh wound, instructions were issued to tranquilize the animal. ‘‘It was a 4-inch-deep wound and thousands of maggots had collected there. If left unattended, the tigress would have died in two days,’’ said Kak.

Doctors from the Jaipur zoo and Sawai Madhopur cleaned the wound and did a minor surgery. ‘‘On Friday came the news that the tigress had killed the bait and reunited with her cubs,’’ the minister said.