New-born cubs spotted in Panna, number of tigers rises to 37

With the recent birth of three cubs, the number of tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh has gone up to 37, an official today said.

"Tigress P-222 was seen with three cubs recently. The cubs, captured by camera along with their mother, seem to be about two months old," PTR field director K S Bhadoriya said.

With this, the number of tigers in the reserve has increased to 37, he said.

In 2009, not a single tiger was left in the reserve owing to various reasons including poaching. Tigers from other places were then transferred to PTR to revive the population of big cats.

According to Bhadoriya, this is the third time tigress P-222 has given birth. She had given birth to two cubs each on two occasions in the past.

"It is hard to locate the tigress as she is roaming without radio collar. Therefore we came to know about the birth of cubs slightly late this time," he said.