BHOPAL: The half-eaten carcass of a tiger cub was found in Kanha on Thursday, leading forest officers to believe it’s yet another case of cannibalism. A tiger, identified as T22, and a tigress were seen about around 60 meters from the carcass.
Officials who examined the spot were of the opinion that the cub, aged 13-14 months, was hunted and killed by a tiger. Forest guards on patrol on elephants found the carcass in Raunda beat in Sarhi Range. They saw the tiger dragging the cub’s carcass and hiding it behind some bushes. “This shows that the cub was killed by the adult tiger to mate with the tigress,” reads an official note from
Kanha Tiger Reserve
Kanha has seen 22 cannibalism cases since 2004The tiger and tigress are too close to the cub’s carcass. Their activities are being monitored,” reads the official note. This is the fourth case of suspected
tiger cannibalism
in Kanha this year.
The other three were recorded between January and July 2019. Going by official documents, Kanha has witnessed 22 cannibalism cases since 2004, with cubs mostly the targets. This figure is higher than those reported in other sanctuaries and reserves, say officials. Upgraded from Banjar Valley Sanctuary by the British Raj in 1935, Kanha is one of the oldest protected tiger habitats of India. Rakesh Shukla, a research officer at Kanha for 25 years, says, “My empirical knowledge with tigers of Kanha suggests that the aggression of a tiger sometimes culminates in partial eating of the killed cub. Cannibalistic behaviour brings the ultimate sensation of dispatching a rival and defending his territory. Infighting sometimes results in cannibalism.”
Tigers are highly territorial. Besides high density of tiger population, Kanha, unlike other protected areas, has uneven prey distribution due to topographical barriers.
There is no shortage of prey at Kanha, but their uneven distribution brings tigers in close proximity to each other, making conflict inevitable.
“The breeding season is between high winter and spring, when roving animals sometimes come into fierce conflict, resulting in partial cannibalism. Infanticide of unrelated cubs, of course, is common among tigers,” Rakesh Shukla told TOI.