Maharashtra: Abandoned tiger cub defies common belief, thrives in Brahmapuri

S1 has taken over her mother’s territory and extended it

In a rare case, an abandoned tiger has managed to not only survive but thrive in the forest at Brahmapuri in Chandrapur district. While it is believed that orphaned or abandoned cubs often don't make it to adulthood in the absence of their mother as they do not learn to hunt, S-1, a female cub abandoned by tigress T7, is regularly killing wild boars and has established and extended her territory in Talodhi range. She even mated with T104 in January and has given birth to cubs.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Sunil Limaye found out about the tigress during one of his field visits during holidays wherein he interacts with the staffers to get a better insight about the area. Limaye said, "It's a fact that the carnivore mothers teach hunting skills to their cubs during their growing years, and in majority of cases, abandoned cubs, without mother's guidance, hardly survive the jungle life. But, in Brahmapuri's Talodhi forests, T7 tigress's female cub S-1 could do this and survived."

Siblings S1 and S2 drinking water

S1 was around 12 to 13 months old in 2017 when she and her three siblings were abandoned by her mother. "As the mother did not pick them up for a long time, the field staff kept a watch and even found two dead cubs. So, they believed that the remaining two cubs could have also died, but field search and camera trapping exercises continued," he added. He added that the remaining cubs - S1 and S2 - were spotted by the camera killing wild pigs.

"Later on it was found that the more active cub S1 established her territory in her mother's territory and was killing only wild pigs. S1 even extended her territory in Talodhi range and after mating with T104 in January 2022, she has given birth to cubs," Limaye said. Chandrapur district reports a high number of human-animal conflicts, with tigers killing cattles. "In spite of being born in Brahmapuri, S1 hasn't killed any cattle so far and is exclusively feeding on wild pigs. She is also a human shy tigress and doesn't come close to human habitation. Isn't it a surprise, especially in this area?" he added.

A senior forest department official told mid-day that according to the Phase IV annual estimation done by Maharashtra Forest Department in 2021, there are a minimum of 352 tigers in the state, of which more than 200 are in Chandrapur district alone. It has also been reported that in 2021 there were a total of 84 deaths in Maharashtra due to human-animal conflict, of which 44 were from Chandrapur and 16 from Gadchiroli. Officials said that the Brahmapuri division has the highest number of tigers outside protected areas.

2017
Year S1 and her 3 siblings were abandoned