Jaipur, Sep 30 (IANS) One more tiger cub was spotted in Rajasthan’s Sariska Tiger Reserve, confirming the fact that a tigress here gave birth to at least two cubs this year, officials said.
The first tiger cub was captured on camera along with its mother Aug 8. Officials said that two cubs, including the one spotted earlier, were captured on camera early Sunday.
“Two cubs were caught on a trap camera in the Kala Khor area of the sanctuary around 4 a.m.,” a forest department officer told IANS.
The officer added that the mother of the cubs was a tigress named ST-2.
“When the first cub was spotted in August, we were sure that ST-2 had given birth to more cubs. We were keeping a close watch on ST-2’s movements,” said the officer.
The Sariska reserve now has five adult tigers, of which three are females and two males. With the two cubs spotted now, the total number of tigers in the reserve is seven.
In 2004-05, the forest department and the Rajasthan government faced all-round criticism over the disappearance of tigers from Sariska.
The state government then decided to relocate tigers from the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district to Sariska.
The Sariska reserve, originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile princely state of Alwar, was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. It got the status of a National Park in 1979.
