Rewilding failure as tigress Avni’s offspring dies after release

The tigress had been released on March 5 into Pench Tiger Reserve

In some bad news for wildlife lovers, Tigress T 1 - Avni's cub, died on Saturday while undergoing treatment following injuries in a territorial fight. Avni was shot dead in 2018 after being declared man-eater. Her two cubs were then captured and raised in an enclosure in the Pench Tiger Reserve.

According to the Field Director of the Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, Ravikant Govekar, "Tigress PTRF_84 was recaptured from the wild on March 8, after she was found injured during an internecine fight, finally succumbed to the wounds. She was being treated in a treatment cage in the enclosure at Titralmangi and being monitored by the veterinary officers. Today evening it was found that her health was deteriorating. The veterinary team advised to shift her to Gorewada Tiger Reserve. Immediately preparations were made, however she died around 10 PM. The veterinary team tried their best to provide emergency treatment. The post mortem as per the SOP of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was carried out on Sunday."

The tigress had been released on March 5 from the Titralmangi enclosure into Pench Tiger Reserve. PTRF_84 was being monitored using VHF tracking and satellite telemetry on 24x7 basis. After confirmation of her fight with another tigress and after seeking veterinary opinion that the injury may affect her movements in wild, it was decided to tranquilise her for recapture after consulting the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW).

The Forest Department had anticipated this kind of interaction with another tiger after the release, and the emergency retrieval plan had been provided in the original release plan submitted to NTCA. The other tigress involved in the fight sustained injuries on the right foreleg but she is otherwise healthy. The tranquilising operation of PTRF_84 was carried out in presence of Dr Chetan Patond, Dr Syed Bilal, FD PTR, DD PTR, ACF and other officers. This is the 5th such rewilding - reintroduction of a wild animal into a forest - experiment that failed in Maharashtra.