Bor Tiger Reserve has delivered its third litter in just 2.5 years, with a gap of just 14 months between each litter.
Tourists were thrilled to sight three 3-month-old cubs of Katrina at a waterhole. Katrina is the dominant female of the little known and smallest tiger reserve Bor (138.12 sq km), 60km from Nagpur in Wardha district.
Staff and officials monitoring the tigress since 2013 said Katrina delivered the first litter of four cubs (2 males and 2 females) in October 2014. The second litter of three (2 females and 1 male) cubs was born on January 2016, and now the third litter in March 2017.
One of the cubs from the second litter was killed by a wild dog last year. Male tiger Yuvraj and female Pinky are still being sighted by tourists at Bor's Adegaon gate. All other cubs did well and dispersed in buffer zone and other forest areas through the fragmented corridors.
"Every time, the cubs were first sighted with Katrina about two months after birth, and hence in the records the date of their sighting has been mentioned as date of birth," said Bor officials.
As per tiger science, a female can rear some 6-8 litters over her 10-12 year lifespan. However, six-year-old Katrina has delivered 10 cubs in a span of 2.5 years if one considers the first litter from October 2014 to March 2017. It means the cubs were separated in 14 months.
With six more years to go in Katrina's lifespan in the wild, at this rate the tigress at an average of 3-4 cubs can deliver 20 more cubs, breaking the record of MP Pench's Collarwali, which has so far given 26 cubs from seven litters.
Presently, Bor has 12 tigers, which includes 7 cubs, 3 females and 2 males. One of the males was the dominant Bajirao (B2). Bajirao, who mated with Katrina, had a huge territory, right from Hingni, Kharangana and Karanja in Wardha to Kalmeshwar in Nagpur.
Well-known Bengaluru-based conservation zoologist K Ullas Karanth says, "If a litter is lost, the tigress can typically mate again within a month, and have the next litter in 3.5 months. Not knowing the full history of this case, I cannot say more."
Another tiger expert and former director of Project Tiger PK Sen says, "It's very surprising. I have not heard of such happenings in my life or ever read in any book or document."
"Only once in my lifetime have I come across a tigress with one about three-month-old cub and two about 20-month-old cubs moving together in Tadoba in 1998. The elder two separated from the mother after a few weeks," Sen said.
However, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) tiger scientist Bilal Habib says though it is an unusual situation, it happens in high density areas. "Females tend to mate with males early as a strategy to save their cubs. It has happened in Tadoba, another high density area," said Habib.
Habib added Bor reserve has a good prey base, abundant water and protection, hence it has become a good breeding ground. "The area is too small to accommodate a large number of tigers, hence surplus population will have to always move out," he said.
Even in low density Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary (UKWS) in Nagpur district, the park's dominant tigress Chandi delivered 17 cubs from 2009, but all were reared till they were 2 years old, the time when males disperse in search of new territories.
Tourists were thrilled to sight three 3-month-old cubs of Katrina at a waterhole. Katrina is the dominant female of the little known and smallest tiger reserve Bor (138.12 sq km), 60km from Nagpur in Wardha district.
Staff and officials monitoring the tigress since 2013 said Katrina delivered the first litter of four cubs (2 males and 2 females) in October 2014. The second litter of three (2 females and 1 male) cubs was born on January 2016, and now the third litter in March 2017.
One of the cubs from the second litter was killed by a wild dog last year. Male tiger Yuvraj and female Pinky are still being sighted by tourists at Bor's Adegaon gate. All other cubs did well and dispersed in buffer zone and other forest areas through the fragmented corridors.
"Every time, the cubs were first sighted with Katrina about two months after birth, and hence in the records the date of their sighting has been mentioned as date of birth," said Bor officials.
As per tiger science, a female can rear some 6-8 litters over her 10-12 year lifespan. However, six-year-old Katrina has delivered 10 cubs in a span of 2.5 years if one considers the first litter from October 2014 to March 2017. It means the cubs were separated in 14 months.
With six more years to go in Katrina's lifespan in the wild, at this rate the tigress at an average of 3-4 cubs can deliver 20 more cubs, breaking the record of MP Pench's Collarwali, which has so far given 26 cubs from seven litters.
Presently, Bor has 12 tigers, which includes 7 cubs, 3 females and 2 males. One of the males was the dominant Bajirao (B2). Bajirao, who mated with Katrina, had a huge territory, right from Hingni, Kharangana and Karanja in Wardha to Kalmeshwar in Nagpur.
Well-known Bengaluru-based conservation zoologist K Ullas Karanth says, "If a litter is lost, the tigress can typically mate again within a month, and have the next litter in 3.5 months. Not knowing the full history of this case, I cannot say more."
Another tiger expert and former director of Project Tiger PK Sen says, "It's very surprising. I have not heard of such happenings in my life or ever read in any book or document."
"Only once in my lifetime have I come across a tigress with one about three-month-old cub and two about 20-month-old cubs moving together in Tadoba in 1998. The elder two separated from the mother after a few weeks," Sen said.
However, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) tiger scientist Bilal Habib says though it is an unusual situation, it happens in high density areas. "Females tend to mate with males early as a strategy to save their cubs. It has happened in Tadoba, another high density area," said Habib.
Habib added Bor reserve has a good prey base, abundant water and protection, hence it has become a good breeding ground. "The area is too small to accommodate a large number of tigers, hence surplus population will have to always move out," he said.
Even in low density Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary (UKWS) in Nagpur district, the park's dominant tigress Chandi delivered 17 cubs from 2009, but all were reared till they were 2 years old, the time when males disperse in search of new territories.
