A tiger cub, aged around four months, was found dead in Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district on Sunday, an official said.

The reserve’s field director Devaprasad J said the staff spotted the carcass of the big cat while patrolling in the Ari buffer range.

All the body parts of the dead tiger cub are intact, he said.

The post-mortem on the carcass will be done as per the protocol laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). Samples of the tiger cub’s organs are being sent for histopathological and forensic examinations, he said.

The reason behind the death would be known after post-mortem, the official said, adding that the tiger reserve staff and a dog squad are searching the area for more clues.

The matter is being thoroughly investigated, he said.

As per the report ‘Status of Tigers: Co-predators & Prey in India-2022’, released by the NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India, Madhya Pradesh had 785 tigers, the highest in the country, followed by Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560).

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