Wednesday, 25 SEPTEMBER 2024 | CHANCHAL GOLA | RAMNAGAR
A rare case of the maternal instincts of a tigress has come to light wherein the big cat indulged in fake mating with a tiger in order to save her cub. This occurred in the Fato zone of Terai west forest division about six months ago. The cub is now a year old and out of danger.
According to Forest department officials, a tigress was seen with her six-month-old cub near a watering hole in Fato in April. The tigress and her cub were photographed by tourists. Later in May, the tigress was seen mating with a tiger near the same watering hole, which made the experts think that her cub must have died.
However, the tigress was seen with her cub two days ago. Wildlife photographer Deep Rajwar said that the tigress indulged in fake mating with the tiger for about a month as the male was regularly visiting her territory for a month. The tigress was making fake mating calls in order to save her cub. The tiger was not seen again in the territory after June.
Terai west divisional forest officer Prakash Chandra Arya said that camera traps have been placed to monitor the tigress and her cub while the department staff have also been told to remain alert. Corbett tiger reserve director Saket Badola said that fake mating is rare. “A lactating tigress does not come into estrus so a tiger who is not the father of her cubs tends to kill the cubs in order to mate with her to carry forward his genes. We have seen one such case in Corbett in the past,” he said.
