Watch: 6-month-old injured tiger rescued by forest officials in India's southern Tamil Nadu state

A six-month-old injured male tiger that was spotted roaming alone in private tea estates near a hill station in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state was rescued by forest staff on Wednesday.

The officials from the forest department at the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), Tamil Nadu, said the sightings of a lone tiger cub in the area was a “rare occurrence”, as the young ones are usually spotted with their mothers.

Ever since it was spotted two days ago, the forest staff had been tracking the weak-appearing cub, until they lost track of it owing to heavy rains and poor visibility in Valparai area, Coimbatore.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Field director and conservator of forest, ATR, Ramasubramanian told Zee that the cub was initially spotted about two days ago by forest staff who were on routine rounds, following which the animal was being tracked.

“We had set up a team of vets from Tirunelveli and technical experts according to the guidance issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority Guidelines for capture. Cages and tranquillizer darts were also kept ready, and we formed four teams. We spent hours combing the area where the tiger cub was last spotted. Later, a few tea estate workers informed us that the cub had taken refuge in an abandoned building in their premises, following which we tacked the tiger,” Ramasubramanian said.

After the mammoth effort of 150 personnel in clearing the bushes and conducting searches amid the heavy rain, the cub was finally captured late on Tuesday night.

Owing to its weak condition and the risks involved in using a tranquillizer, the forest department staff and experts caught the tiger cub in a net and covered its eyes and face (to prevent it from behaving aggressively) and move the cub to a treatment facility in Rottikadai, nearly 10 kilometres from the captured area in Valparai.

Examination by the veterinarians revealed that the cub was injured by porcupine quills and the tiger’s faeces indicated that the big cat had eaten a porcupine.

The forest official said the feline would later be released into the woods after it recovers completely.

“The decision to release the cub or keep it under captivity is to be taken by the NTCA and the Chief Wildlife Warden of Tamil Nadu, after the cub completes close to a week under observation” Ramasubramanian added.

Asked about the whereabouts of the cub’s mother and siblings, he replied that forest staff are looking into whether the cub was abandoned or got lost.

The Anaimalai tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu is home to about 25 tigers and the region where the cub was captured is home to anywhere between 7-10 tigers.

The ATR spans across parts of Coimbatore, Tirupur and Dindigul districts of Tamil Nadu.