A tigress, captured after she turned man-eater, gave birth to four cubs a few days ago but none of the new-born cubs survived, a top official of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh said today.
While three of the cubs were stillborn, the fourth one died after birth, said BTR field director Mridul Pathak.
"The tigress was captured from the jungles of Katni district on April 22. She gave birth to four cubs on the night of April 28 and 29, and three of them were stillborn. The fourth one died a day later," Pathak told PTI.
The delivery of stillborn or weak cubs could be the result of the stress the tigress suffered when she was captured, he said.
After the tigress began to prey on humans, she and her two 22-month-old cubs were captured last month, he said. The two cubs are also being reared in an enclosure in the Reserve.
She may have turned man-eater for easy food as she was pregnant and also needed to feed the two cubs, Pathak said.
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The tigress had killed and partially eaten at least two persons before she was captured.
Elsewhere, a three-year-old tigress was found dead in Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Mandla district of the state.
"A tigress was found dead in the Bhagpur beat of KTR's buffer zone yesterday," the reserve's veterinary officer Dr Sandeep Agrawal said.
Her body had injury marks, suggesting that some other animal had mauled her, he said.
Autopsy report was awaited, he said.