Three more tiger cubs spotted in Ranthambore

JAIPUR: It was indeed a happy new year for Ranthambore tiger reserve with the park waking up to the news of three more cubs joining its fraternity. Tigress T-13 was caught in a trap camera taking a stroll with three newly born cubs.
Though the birth of the cubs was being speculated for sometime, there was no confirmation so far as they remained elusive.However, they were caught in a trap camera just outside the park premises recently.
According to estimates by conservation biologist Dharmendra Khandal of Tiger Watch, the total number of tigers at the park now stands at 49 with 24 males, 19 females and six cubs.
"There are three stages for categorizing tigers at Ranthambore. The first stage is that of cubs, which are below one year, and their count stands at six. However, we do not know how may of them are males or females. The second stage is that of sub-adults, those aged between one year and three-and-a-half years, and their count today is 19. It includes 12 males and seven females," said Khandal.
"The third stage is that of adults, those above three-and-a-half years, and there are 24 of them with 12 males and 12 females. Therefore, the total males in the park are 24, females 19 and six cubs," he said.
T-13 is described as a fighter that had walked away from the Sultanpur area up to the Chambal in a bid to stay away from tiger T-24. But then it came back to the park. However, the walk in which it had taken two of its cubs took a toll on both of them. Thereafter, the tigress gave birth again and raised another male cub and now it has given birth to three more.
Experts feel that the father of the cubs is tiger T-43. "It is based on the area where the tigress stays. I feel that the father of the tiger is T-43 as that is the one that frequents the Kanduli nullah area or the area around the Bhaironpura village where the tigress stays," said Khandal.