Jaipur, March 12 A tigress has given birth to three cubs in the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, bringing the total number of big cats in the protected area to 53, officials said on Thursday.
The tigress and her cubs appear to be in good health. Tigress ST-17 had previously given birth to cubs, and this is her second successful breeding, they said.
The cubs were captured in photographs and videos in the Akbarpur range of the 1,200 sq km reserve, along with their mother.
Monitoring teams have been instructed to closely observe the activities of the tigress and her cubs, they added.
Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma described the development as good news for wildlife conservation in the state.
"Good news from the Sariska Tiger Reserve. Tigress ST-17 has three newborn cubs in the Akbarpur range of Sariska. The growing tiger family is a success story for wildlife conservation in Rajasthan. The government is always committed to forest and wildlife conservation," Sharma said.
Wildlife experts said the birth of three cubs reflects the success of tiger conservation and rehabilitation efforts in the reserve.
Tigers had become completely extinct from Sariska around 2004-05 due to poaching. In 2008, a tiger relocation program was launched by moving the animal from Ranthambore National Park to Sariska, an effort considered the first of its kind in the world, the experts said.
The officials said that sustained management, intensive patrolling, camera trap monitoring, augmentation of prey species, and relocation of villages since then have helped steadily increase the tiger population in the reserve.
