Guwahati:For a three-month-old tiger cub torn from its mother by a swollen river, rescue was only the first step. Found tangled in fishing nets in a kitchen garden in a house Assam’s Biswanath district on September 17, the cub was freed and then forest officials and the Wildlife Trust of India spent the next week trying to do something rarer—reunite it with its mother in the wild.The cub, likely swept from her by strong currents, was freed without tranquilisers. “The rescue was accomplished without the use of chemical immobilisation, considering the young age of the animal,” said Dr C Ramesh, Field Director, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.While the cub was moved to the Central Range Office for observation, a WTI team combed nearby riverine islands for pugmarks of an adult tigress, its mother, — but found none.Still, evidence suggested a mother with cubs had recently been in the area, so the team, led by Dr Panjit Basumatary of WTI’s Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation, made the call to attempt a reunion that same evening.The cub was ferried by mechanised country boat to an upstream island near Murkhuwa and Bhawani, given food and water, and left near a camera trap set to capture any sign of the tigress before the team withdrew.A drone survey the next day confirmed the cub was still at the site — but flagged a new danger. “As advised by Mr. Ritu Paban Borah, DFO, Biswanath Wildlife Division, a drone survey was conducted the following day to assess the condition of the site and the surrounding area. The tiger was observed to still be present at the location. However, the survey also indicated that the river water level was rising, creating a risk that the cage and surrounding area could become submerged,” said Nayan Jyoti Gogoi, Assistant Conservator of Forests.The cub was shifted again, to a site chosen for both safety and easier monitoring. On September 19, the cub left the enclosure on its own, but the reunion with its mother was yet to be confirmed.WTI said that pugmarks of the cub turned up 200 metres from the release point on September 23. “We remain hopeful of capturing images of the tiger cub in the coming days. Camera-trap monitoring will continue over the coming weeks,” Dr Basumatary said.
