Maharashtra: Two tiger cubs found dead, another rescued; search on for mother

The dead cubs were around four months old, an official said.

The carcasses of two tiger cubs were found in Ballarpur forest range in eastern Maharashtra's Chandrapur district on Thursday while another cub was rescued, officials said.

Five teams have been formed to trace their mother, a senior forest department official said.

The district is home to the Toadoa-Andhari tiger reserve.

Forest guards started a combing operation after realising that a tigress had left her three cubs and gone missing. They found the carcasses of two cubs in the morning while a female cub was found alive, the official said.

The female cub was shifted to the Transit Treatment Centre, Chandrapur, for medical check-up.

The dead cubs were around four months old, the official said.

"The tigress might have gone hunting to feed the cubs and lost her way in the jungle. The two cubs might have been killed by wild animals," he said.

The officials are trying to track down the tigress so as to reunite her with the rescued cub, he added.