Chakradhara
Unfortunately we have some bad news about Chalkradhara's litter. On April 21st one of the cubs was injured by a tourist jeep, subsequently dying a few days later. It is clear that the cub went under the jeep and that the jeep moved while it was still there, though accounts differ as to whether or not the mother was acting aggressively towards the jeep. Other stories abound (I have even heard one version where the cub was already injured beforehand (?)) and as a result the whole story is unclear. The driver, Satyendra Tiwari, was arrested but has subsequently been released on bail awaiting trial, and was driving in the park again before I returned home early in June. I am surprised that someone as experienced and committed to tiger conservation should have been involved in the death of a tiger, and it is a bitter irony that his was often the loudest voice complaining about others' behaviour.
I'll keep everyone posted about the outcome of the trial, and what action Tour Operators For Tigers (TOFT) take against the driver, who is one of their members.
Banbai
An adult tiger was found dead just outside the park at the beginning of May. The park authorities are claiming that this is a 12 year old male, but all the known males are accounted for. Banbai female has gone missing, so most people are of the opinion that the dead tiger is almost certainly her. Sad news is that this only leaves Chakradhara alive from the offspring of Sita and Charger. Her three cubs look to be fending for themselves, so hopefully they will continue to maturity.
Chorbera
Chorbera has been seen mating with the Bhamera male, one of the now matured tigers from Bandar & Chakradhara's previous litter. The mahouts think that she may be pregnant, so we are once again hoping for some new additions to the park during the early part of the monsoon. Since February she has been carrying a heavy limp on her right hind leg. Although very noticeable when she walks, when she hunts and has to run it disappears and she has been quite capable of fending for herself. How this will hinder her in raising a litter we don't know, and there is much discussion at the moment about the benefits of providing treatment.
Jhurjura & Mirchani
Jhurjura's litter is almost fully grown and gave us regular sightings in the water at Rajbhera Dam. We also had good views of one of the cubs hunting and one the last morning of our summer tour we saw Jhurjura and Boka mating just a few yards from the jeep. Mirchani's two sub adult males are very confident and still moving around as a pair. One in particular takes great delight in parading slowly in front of the assembled jeeps -- the authentic "catwalk" model.
Bhitri
Bhitri female was tranquilised and removed to Panna in March, along with a female from Kanha. The stated idea was to mate the two females with the sole remaining resident male to repopulate the park. The move met a lot of resistance from both parks; there were far more suitable candidates for relocation and there is concern as to how effective protection for the tigers will be, bearing in mind that Panna has lost many tigers.
There have been no confirmed sightings of the old male recently, and I have unconfirmed reports that the signal from Bhitri's radio collar is many km from the area in the park where she was released.