Bettiah: The suspected starvation death of a young tigress on Wednesday in Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) has raised concerns about the survival challenges faced by dispersing big cats. The 18-month-old tigress, believed to have recently separated from her mother, was found in an extremely weakened condition with post-mortem findings indicating an empty stomach.West Champaran forest conservator Gaurav Ojha said the tigress had likely reached the age when she would naturally leave her mother to establish an independent territory. However, preliminary findings suggest she failed to hunt successfully after separation and may have continued searching for her mother, eventually straying into nearby residential areas. She became progressively weaker due to her inability to secure prey. “Post-mortem findings indicated an empty stomach,” he said.Joint director of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), Samir Sinha said tigresses typically give birth in quiet forest-edge areas, and cubs separate between 18 and 24 months to establish their own territories. “In many cases, young tigers face territorial conflicts. The stronger animal survives and the weaker one is forced to move elsewhere or may die,” Sinha said. He added that cubs often perceive the area where they are born, such as forest fringes or sugar cane fields, as their territory, increasing the likelihood of human-animal conflict.He added, “Cub mortality in large cats due to starvation or separation from the mother is not uncommon. In the case of dispersing individuals, starvation, if confirmed, may result from inadequate hunting skills after early separation or physical incapacitation that limits their ability to hunt. Also, territorial conflicts with established tigers can push such individuals into resource-scarce fringe habitats or leave them injured, further reducing their chances of survival.”“These are part of the natural processes of selection, where only the fittest individuals survive. The eastern side of VTR is a narrow habitat strip with limited contiguous forest, even across the international border, leaving very limited space for dispersal of individuals born in this area. As a result, the likelihood of such incidents occurring here is relatively higher compared to the western part of the reserve.”In a previous case in 2022, a tiger declared a man-eater in the Govardhana forest area was shot dead after repeated attacks. The animal had been born in a sugar cane field and continued returning to human-dominated areas in search of food.Data from the reserve shows that nine tiger deaths have been recorded in VTR over the past five years, most of them due to territorial conflicts.
