Tigress found dead near Jim Corbett Park

Forest officials have found a dead Royal Bengal tigress in a forested area adjoining the Jim Corbett National Park.

Officials said they found the tigress' body strewn on the ground with injury marks and bloodstains on it yesterday.

"She was an adult tigress, but doctors are yet to establish her age. There are claw-like injury marks on her. So, it looks like a case of conflict between tigers, but the exact cause will be ascertained after a post mortem," said Kahkashan Naseem, Divisional Forest Officer of the Ramnagar Forest Division.

Meanwhile, an adult tigress has given birth to three cubs at a zoo in Surat. The cubs and their mother, Shambhavi, are being monitored by close circuit cameras.

A zoo official said Shambhavi had mated with another male Royal Bengal tiger more than three months ago and had successfully given birth to the cubs on Tuesday.

"After a span of 101 days, Shambhavi, the tigress, has given birth to three cubs. All the cubs are healthy; the female tigress Shambhavi is taking full care of her cubs," said Surat Municipal Zoo managing director Praful Mehta.

As per a report of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the tiger population in India stood at 2,226 in 2014, an increase of 30.5 percent over the 2010 estimate of 1706.