Tigress Avni's male cub missing from Pandharkwada forest on December 22 and sent to Pench Tiger Reserve for rehabilitation. Officials with Maharashtra's forest department have said that the male cub of slain Tigress Avni has gone missing from Pandharkwada forest in Yavatmal district. A search and rescue operation has been launched.
Two months since his mother was shot dead by a hunter in Maharashtra's Pandharkwada forest, tigress Avni's male cub, also known as T1-C1, has gone missing from Yavatmal district. Officials with the state forest department said that the operation to rescue the one-year-old cub has been initiated all over again after a special team tasked with the job returned after taking a break for 'strategic and technical reasons'.
Following the rescue of Tigress T1's female cub on December 22, rangers said that T1-C1 has been missing since December 25. A report suggests that the cub went missing from compartment 655 near Loni village after jumping over a 10-foot high chain-link fence.
Principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), AK Misra said that the situation has become worrisome since rangers failed to locate the cub. He also said that officials noticed a portion of the fence towards the northern end of the compartment to be inclined to suggest that an animal may have pushed its way through and leaped across. "Leopards are known to jump this high. But we may have underestimated the strength, agility, and intelligence of this cub," added Misra.
In the wake of recent developments, as many as 150 field staff consisting of wildlife and veterinarian experts will commence the search operation to locate the cub. Officials suspect that that cub is likely to be within 5-7 sq km radius. The missing cub's mother, Tigress Avni was shot dead by a hunter and a team of forest rangers on November 2. A report by The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had revealed that the majestic cat's killing was undertaken in violation of direct orders from the Supreme Court.
