sariska: 4 Tiger Cubs Found In R’bore & Sariska | Jaipur News

JAIPUR: Four tiger cubs were caught on camera in the state’s two tiger reserves, Ranthambore and Sariska, on Tuesday, proving yet again that the state was doing well in tiger conservation. While two cubs of tigress T-17 were captured in a camera trap in Akbarpur range in the Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), the forest administration at Ranthambore also put out pictures of T-79 with its two cubs.
With this, the total population of big cats increased to 111 in the state, including 77 tigers in Ranthambore and 27 in Sariska.

To congratulate the forest staff at Sariska, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted, “Good news from Sariska Tiger Reserve as tigress T-17’s newborn cubs have been captured in trap cameras. Now, the tiger reserve has 27 tigers, including 9 tigers, 11 tigresses and 7 cubs. Their rising numbers are a matter of joy.”
In Sariska, the number has gone up from zero to 27 in about 14 years since 2008 when the first tiger was reintroduced after all the big cats died due to alleged poaching.

State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) member Sunil Mehta said, “This is the highest big cat population at the park in the last 40 years. After many villages were shifted out of the reserve and disturbance reduced, tigers are getting the space to breed. Once all villages are shifted, it could provide a suitable environment for the tigers to grow. The park can accommodate 40-50 adult tigers if the villages are rehabilitated.”
Another conservationist and former member of local advisory committee (LAC) Dinesh Durani said, “The birth of four cubs in this year proves that Sariska is effectively managed and a safe habitat. A strategy should be chalked on urgent basis to relocate villages where people voluntarily come forward,”
Two cubs born to nine-year-old tigress T-79 were also spotted in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, known as the nursery for big cats in the state.
Press statement released by divisional forest officer (DFO) Mahendra Sharma said, “The two cubs spotted at Bherupura range are approximately 3 to 4 months old. With this, the total number of big cats at Ranthambore has reached 77, including 23 adult males, 30 females and 24 sub-adults and cubs.”
In the past two days, two tigresses have been spotted with three cubs. On March 6, the famous tigress ‘Noor’ was seen carrying a cub in her mouth. A forest official at Ranthambore said, “A majority of the tigresses are in the reproductive age. This has increased the birth rate. Between 2019 and 2021, 44 cubs have been born at the park.”