Tigress with five cubs spotted in Sathyamangalam

Location of the sighting not disclosed for conservation purpose

A tigress and its cubs which were captured in a hidden camera kept in theSathyamangalam Tiger Reserve.

Hidden cameras in the sprawling semi-deciduous Sathyamangalam forests have captured five tiger cubs playing around their mother – a magnificent tigress.

Sighting a tiger is not so uncommon in this newly formed tiger reserve down the Nilgiris eastern slopes but five cubs doting the mother captured in a video camera has brought smiles to forest officials in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).

For conservation purposes, the location of the sighting is not being disclosed.

STR became the fourth tiger reserve in the State last April as the spill-over population from the neighbouring Bandipur and Mudumalai tiger reserves started foraying into the jungles along the Moyar river basin.

In the tiger reserve spread over 1.40 lakh hectares, recent sightings indicate a healthy population confirming that the tigers are thriving here.

According to an official release, the reserve is home for a variety of wildlife including elephants, blackbucks, sambars, spotted deer, Indian gaurs, sloth bears, vultures and leopards.

Tiger reserve’s director I. Anwardeen, and deputy directors C.H. Padma (Hassanur) and K. Rajkumar (Sathyamangalam) have been sensitising tribals to the importance of conservation and the responsibilities in the tiger reserve, the release said.