Tigress 'mausi' takes care of cubs left behind by her dead sister at MP reserve

A tigress is training and taking care of the cubs of her dead sister in a reserve in Madhya Pradesh leaving everyone amazed at the big cat's compassionate behaviour.

Sidhi (MP): A tigress at the Sanjay Dubri National Park, Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh is winning hearts for its compassionate gesture in taking care of the cubs after her sibling tigress 'death. T-28 is not an ordinary tigress and is playing a typical 'mausi' (maternal aunt) to the cubs of her sister T-18 who died after being crushed to death by a train.

T-28 is reportedly training the cubs to hunt on her own. The cubs, months apart in age, have also intermingled well and are seen playing together. The dead tigress T-18's cubs are 1 year and 1 month old, while T-28's own four cubs are 9 months old. The cubs of tigress T18 were 9 months old when she died.

YP Singh, the field director of Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve located in Sidhi, said that on March 16, he had received information that the body of a tigress was lying near the railway track. On investigation, it was found that the body was of T-18, after which the people of the Tiger Reserve got worried as to what would happen to her cubs.

In the end, it was decided that the protection of the cubs should be given to the tigress T-28, which proved to be the right decision. Now the tigress T-28 is taking the responsibility of all the cubs very well, Singh said. The staff at the tiger reserve said that the cubs adopted by tigress T-28 have received “mother-like care” by T28. “She takes care of the cubs of T-18 in the same way as her own cubs.

She has raised all the cubs in the same way as a mother raises her children and is training all the cubs together in the forest for hunting and safety tricks. Tigress T-28 never discriminated among the cubs. The cubs of T-18 and T-28 eat, drink, play and practice together,” a staffer said.