Tirupati: After failing to reunite four tiger cubs found in a village in Nandyala district of Andhra Pradesh with their mother, the Forest department has safely shifted the litter to an in-situ conservation centre near Tirupati, an official said on Friday.
The all-female litter found more than four days ago at Gummadapuram village has safely reached the Tirupati zoo, he said.
“The tiger cubs have reached Tirupati zoo safely and have been handed over,” said Allen Teron, deputy director, Atmakur, Wildlife Division, Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR).
Late on Thursday, after failing to reunite the cubs with the tigress, the Forest department decided to shift the cubs as per the instructions of the principal chief conservator of forests and the chief wildlife warden to an in-situ enclosure at Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park (SVZP).
Laden in perforated wooden boxes, the cubs were taken to the Tirupati Zoo in a convoy in the night, after efforts to restore them to the mother, even after surpassing the crucial 48-hour timeline key for the tigress to accept or reject the litter.
It took more than 40 hours after the timeline for the southern state’s forest department to take the final decision on the litter found by a villager going to attend nature’s call on Monday morning.
Teron indicated that the in-situ animal rescue centre near Tirupati, which is currently almost empty, offers a perfect setting for the cubs.
However, the department is keen on restoring the cubs into the wilderness, back to their original wild instincts, rather than caging them for exhibition in a zoo.
Despite massive efforts, 70 trap cameras, infrared sensors and several forest officials involvement, the department failed to catch even a glimpse of the beast in real or in pictures, though local shepherds witnessed a direct sighting of the embattled tigress.
Trap cameras and sensors were set up within a radius of 200 metres.
However, a large number of pug marks were found, which correctly matched with the tiger’s designated unique number, including recording some roars somewhere in the vicinity.
The cubs were in perfect condition under the custody of the forest department all through the reunification ordeal and feasting on mashed chicken liver, royal canin and other brands of milk without sugar, besides ORS and fluid state multivitamins.
Estimated by tiger experts to be three months old, the department followed the protocol laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in handling orphaned or abandoned cubs.
