Royal Bengal tiger cub rescued from house in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj
A seven- to eight-month-old tiger cub took shelter in an empty house in Mayurbhanj after heavy rain drove it out of the forest.
Prefer HTon Google
Rescue of a Royal Bengal Tiger Cub
A seven- to eight-month-old Royal Bengal tiger cub was rescued from an empty house in an Odisha village in Mayurbhanj district on Friday after heavy rain drove it out of the forest, triggering panic among residents, forest officials said.
Movement of the Cub
The cub had been moving around Khaparkhai village under the Thakurmunda forest range, adjoining the Similipal Tiger Reserve, since Thursday night.
Initial Discovery and Response
Officials said a villager first noticed the cub near his house on Thursday night, and locals soon alerted forest officials and kept watch over the animal with flashlights. A team led by Thakurmunda range officer Umakanta Behera and forester Bidyadhar Mahanta reached the village around 9 pm.
Return to Human Habitation
The cub initially moved towards the forest but returned to the habitation after heavy rain and took shelter in an unoccupied house constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. On Friday morning, villagers, fearing for their safety, shut the door from outside and informed the forest department.
Rescue Operation
A senior forest team, including Karanjia DFO Ajay Kumar Sahu, ACF Prabhat Kumar Kuanr, Similipal Tiger Reserve Deputy Director ACF Phalguni Behera and ACF Ashok Kumar Das, who reached the spot, found that the cub appeared ill and required veterinary attention. Using nets and a specialised transport cage, the rescue team safely secured the animal around noon and shifted it to the Thakurmunda forest range office.
Further Actions for the Cub
Field Director of Similipal Tiger Reserve and Baripada Regional Chief Conservator of Forests Prakash Chand Gogineni said the cub was undergoing veterinary examination and treatment. “After it recovers and attains the required fitness, the cub will be shifted to a larger rehabilitation enclosure at Jamuani in the core area of the Similipal Tiger Reserve,” he said, adding that it will be kept under observation until it develops the hunting skills needed to survive independently.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.