A tiger cub was injured when some poachers allegedly tried to trap the striped feline in a snare in the core area of the State’s Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR). Madhya Pradesh Principal Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Narendra Kumar while talking to The Pioneer on Sunday, said, “Yes, I too have been informed that there was a bid to trap a cub in Bhaisanghat range of the Kanha Tiger Reserve. We are looking into the matter seriously to find out the people involved in laying the trap.”
In the bid to capture the cub, the feline sustained an injury on its back as it got entangled in the trap laid by the poachers. The cub was tranquilised and rescued from the trap on March 8, after ground duty patrolling staff spotted it in a helpless state. It was kept in a cage for two days in the core area, Forest Department sources said.
A tigress came near the cage in search of its missing cub on March 10 following which the young striped animal was set free, they said. However, a wildlife and Right To Information (RTI) activist, Ajay Dubey, said, “the recent incident has confirmed our allegations that poachers are active inside the famous tiger reserve of the State and that the striped feline is not safe even in the tiger reserves of the State.”
KTR’s Field Director JS Chouhan said that as per the tiger census in 2009-10, there were around 60 striped animals in the reserve. later, nearly 98 tigers, including 21 cubs, were noticed in through cameras installed there during the last count in 2012-13. However, the exact number of the striped animals found in the landscape of KTR during the last count in the country has not yet come in, he added. Earlier, poachers had tried to capture an adult tiger at Mukki range of the park in December 2006. Some tourists had then noticed the big cat writhing in pain inside the trap and informed the forest officials.