Somewhere in the Pench Tiger Reserve....

Two tigresses have given birth to eight cubs in Madhya Pradesh’s Pench Tiger Reserve in a span of just two months. “Last month, a tigress with five newly born cubs was sighted and this month our ground duty officials have spotted another feline with three cubs,” Pench deputy field director O P Tiwari said. He said both the tigresses have given birth to cubs under Karmajhiri range of the Pench reserve, spread over an area of 411 sqkm in eastern Madhya Pradesh. Tiwari said the tigress, with five cubs, seen in October had shifted to another place from the spot where it gave birth — a practice common among felines. This tigress is around six-year old, he said. The tigress spotted with three cubs is around nine-yearold, Tiwari said, adding that they were trying to take photographs of the new guests in their park. With the news of the eight new-born cubs in the reserve, the monitoring in and around Karmajhiri has been increased, officials said.