Tigress sighted with three cubs in a boost to big cat tally in Ranthambore

Ranthambore National Park tigress T-84 was spotted with three of her cubs by the field staff in the Sawai Madhopur range on Monday bringing cheer to the Rajasthan Tiger Project team.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed his happiness over the development welcoming the "new guests of the forest" in a Twitter post.

This is the second time T-84, also called Arrowhead, has given birth to three cubs, a senior forest official said.

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“Three cubs were seen roaming around tigress T-84. The cubs are around one and a half months old," said P. Kathirvel, the field director of Ranthambore Tiger Project.

The officer said that T-84, the daughter of T-19, seemed very weak before delivering the cubs. She was then put under special monitoring and is now fit, he said.

Sharing a video of the cubs, Gehlot said the birth of the cubs reaffirmed Rajasthan government's commitment to tiger conservation.

"Received the good news of the birth of three new tiger cubs from the forest of Ranthambore. This reaffirms our commitment to tiger and wildlife conservation. Congratulations to the Rajasthan Tiger Reserve team," Gehlot tweeted.

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) which spreads across a 1,334 square kilometre area is now home to around 89 tigers. It is the third most populated habitat of the felines in India after Uttarakhand's Corbett National Park with 252 tigers and Assam's Kaziranga National Park with 118 tigers.