Madhya Pradesh: First tigress brought to Panna delivers for 4th time

The first tigress that was brought to Panna Tiger Reserve more than 5 years ago to re-populate the habitat with big cats has delivered her fourth litter. Patrolling squad of MP's wildlife department spotted the Tigress T-1 with a cub in Madla range.

Updated on: Nov 5, 2014, 18:00:55 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The first tigress that was brought to Panna Tiger Reserve under the ambitious programme more than 5 years back to re-populate the habitat with big cats has delivered her fourth litter. Patrolling squad of Madhya Pradesh's wildlife department spotted the Tigress T-1 with a cub on Monday in the Madla range.

The squad also succeeded in taking photograph of one of the cubs. However, officials said that the number of cubs in the litter couldn't be verified. They added that the number would be known in the next few days.

The reserve, situated in the Vindhyan ranges, is spread over Panna and Chattarpur districts in North MP. Officials said that the third litter of T-1, born in April 2014, was abandoned by the tigress within a week and nothing is known about their fate or their number.

The new addition in the tiger population has brought some cheer to the wildlife officials and tiger lovers, especially in the context of the loss of a tiger in the reserve recently.

In September this year, the famous hand-reared and re-wilded Tigress T-4 was found dead in Panna Tiger Reserve, after its radio-collar had created a festering wound which led to spread of infection.

After Panna lost all its big cats to poaching and other causes, a tiger re-introduction programme was launched in 2009 by translocating tigers from other tiger reserves of the state.

After the relocation project began, wildlife experts across the globe were sceptical about the success of the project. But they were silenced in November 2011, when tigress T4 became the world's first hand-reared feline to give birth to two cubs.

Tigress T-1 from Bhandhavgarh reserve and Tigress T-2 from Kanha National Park were brought to Panna reserve in March 2009. In April 2010, T-1 delivered her first litter of four cubs. T-1 delivered her second litter of four cubs in 2012. Two males from the first litter of T-1 have already established their territories in the reserve.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.