Three tiger cubs go 'missing' in Panna forest

Three tiger cubs, born to a translocated tigress in May, have gone "missing" in the Panna Tiger Reserve, sending alarm bells ringing for forest officials in Madhya Pradesh.

The birth of the cubs was seen as a major boost to efforts to revive tiger population as it was the first for any translocated tigress.

"Three out of the four cubs born to a translocated tigress in May have not been spotted for last couple of days in Panna," state principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) HS Pabla told PTI today.

He said that hectic efforts were on to trace the cubs, adding that it was not an easy task to find these small striped cubs given the grass in the forest. 

"Our teams are searching for the cubs in Panna which is spread over an area of 543 sq kms in twin districts of Panna and Chhatarpur in eastern Madhya Pradesh," Pabla added. 

However, he did not rule out the possibility of the cubs being dead, given their high mortality rate. 

Some time back, a tiger had attacked the tigress that gave birth to the four cubs. The tigress still has bruises, he said.

The tiger often kills the cubs to mate with tigress, a forest official said. 

Panna tiger reserve had become devoid of the endangered animal last year and following this, two tigresses, one from Bandhavgarh and another from Kanha Tiger Reserve were translocated in it on March 6 and March 9, last year. 

Besides, a tiger from Pench tiger reserve was put in the wild of Panna on November 14 last year. The tigress brought from Kanha had given birth to four cubs in May.