According to forest officials, it was a patrolling team that found the carcass of the pony in compartment 655 at Anji beat of Pandharkawda in Yavatmal district.
The Maharashtra State forest department, which is treading cautiously in their plans to tranquilise and trap the two cubs of dead tigress Avni, was more than glad after the cubs hunted and feasted on a pony. The pony was put up as a bait in the forested patch.
According to forest officials, it was a patrolling team that found the carcass of the pony in compartment 655 at Anji beat of Pandharkawda in Yavatmal district. The cubs seemingly killed the pony on Sunday morning. The fact that male tiger T2, who fathered these two cubs, was located forty to fifty kilometre away from the spot, confirmed that none but the cubs made the hunt.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF) Sunil Limaye, who is overlooking the operations said, the forest team at the base camp preferred playing the game of waiting followed by scientific methods to tranquilise the cubs rather than rushing into things.
"Baits are set up carefully at different locations and the way the cubs killed the pony and ate 70 to 80 per cent of its carcass shows their confidence and also their skills in hunting and that is good news. We want them to begin hunting baits confidently so that they can be lured into a slightly open area and tranquilised by our team of veterinarians," he said adding that they don't want to fail in their first attempt at tranquilising since, later the cubs would only become more cautious.
While on one hand, conservationists are asking for the cubs to be left alone as they can survive on their own, top forest officials said they will have to tranquilise the cubs and trap them.
"As per protocol, a committee of experts will be formed under the National Tiger Conservation Authourity (NTCA) guidelines and the committee will take a decision about the future of the cubs," said a senior official. He further said that they too do not want these cubs to be in life-long captivity and would want them to be released in their natural habitat.
It was on Thursday that the patrolling team spotted the cubs for the first time and soon their images were captured in the camera trap.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Avni")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}