Mumbai: Third SGNP cub dies, fourth in critical state

Bajirao, the father of the cubs

The joy of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) staff, after four tiger cubs were born in captivity at the protected area on March 25, has been snuffed out as three have died of health complications and one is critical. The delivery of the cubs marked the first time in 13 years that the park witnessed the arrival of newborns of the species.

Range Forest Officer (RFO) Vijay Barabde, superintendent of SGNP's tiger and lion safari, said, "On March 25, one cub died of lung-related complications. Another cub, which also had developed health complications, died on March 30."

Srivalli, the tigress that delivered the four cubs on March 25 this year. File pics

He added, "We observed that the remaining cubs were underweight and so a meeting of expert veterinarians was called for and the decision was taken to treat the two underweight cubs at our dispensary. Unfortunately, the third cub, which had developed an infection, died on Monday. We are taking all the best possible measures to save the fourth cub." A veterinarian said, "It is shocking to know that three of the four cubs have already died. It would important to note if a proper medical examination was done when the mother was pregnant. After cubs are born, proper care has to be taken. A conclusion can only be drawn only on the basis of the post-mortem report."

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The cubs' mother Srivalli, previously known as T24-C2, was rescued from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district and brought to SGNP in March 2022. Their father eight-year-old Bajirao was also rescued from Chandrapur but was brought to SGNP in 2020. Srivalli gave birth to the cubs without human intervention in an enclosure and forest officials and the vets monitored their situation via CCTV cameras. Srivalli mated with Bajirao in December 2022 and after a gestation period of 93 to 110 days, the cubs were born.

T24-C2 was born inside TATR and later moved to its Moharli range to establish its own territory where she used to kill cattle. Human-animal conflict incidents were reported in February 2022 and two people were eventually killed by the tigress. On February 12, she was captured and taken to Chandrapur Transit Treatment Centre (TTC). It was there that she acquired the name Srivalli. Meanwhile, Bajirao had killed eight people in Rajura in Chandrapur in a span of 21 months. He was captured by the Rajura forest department in Chandrapur Circle in 2020.

The captive tiger and lion safari at SGNP, one of the most visited national parks in the country, was started in the 1990s and since then it has been an important tourist attraction. In recent times, with the animals either dying of old age or illnesses, the authorities are concerned. According to Barabde, at present there are a total of four tigresses at the park: Bijali, 13; Lakshmi, 13; Mohini, 3 and Srivalli, 4. Apart from Bajirao, there is another male, three-year-old Chandra.

2009
Year tiger cubs were last born at SGNP

25
Day in March when first cub died