24 September,2026 03:02 PM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
The juvenile tiger was believed to have been separated from its mother, possibly due to strong river currents in the area.
A three-month-old tiger cub was rescued after being found with its forelimbs entangled in agricultural and fishing nets in the kitchen garden of a house in Natugaon village in Assam's Biswanath district on September 17.
The cub was spotted by local residents, following which the forest department, police, district administration and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) launched a coordinated rescue operation.
The juvenile tiger was believed to have been separated from its mother, possibly due to strong river currents in the area.
The rescue team secured the site and surveyed neighbouring riverine islands in an attempt to locate an adult tigress, but found no evidence of the mother.
The team guided the cub into a transportation crate and shifted it to the Central Range Office for veterinary observation. No chemical immobilisation was used, keeping in mind the animal's young age.
"The rescue was accomplished without the use of chemical immobilisation, considering the young age of the animal," said Dr C Ramesh, Field Director, KNP and TR.
A team comprising WTI ecologist Dr Subhasish Arandhra, veterinarian Dr Deepak Sarma and frontline forest staff also surveyed nearby riverine islands upstream for tiger or juvenile pugmarks.
Based on evidence suggesting that a tigress with cubs had recently been present in the area, officials decided to attempt a reunion. The cub was taken to an upstream riverine island in Murkhuwa and Bhawani using a mechanised country boat, locally known as a bhut-bhuti.
The operation, led by Dr Panjit Basumatary of WTI's Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC), involved continued monitoring, feeding and hydration of the cub. A camera trap was installed at the release site to check for the presence of an adult tigress before the team left.
The following day, on September 18, a drone survey was conducted on the advice of Ritu Paban Borah, DFO, Biswanath Wildlife Division, to assess the site and 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, AFS, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Biswanath Wildlife Division.
The cub was subsequently moved to a safer location that allowed officials to monitor it from a distance while also facilitating health checks and supplementary feeding. The site was selected after assessing the surrounding habitat and likely tiger movement routes.
On September 19, the tiger cub was reported to have left the cage on its own. The forest department has since continued monitoring the area and installed camera traps around the release site.
Pugmark evidence was found on September 23, around 200 metres from the release crate, raising hopes that the cub remains in the area.
"While pugmark evidence was found on 23 September, approximately 200 metres from the release crate, we remain hopeful of capturing images of the tiger cub in the coming days. Camera-trap monitoring will continue over the coming weeks," said Dr Basumatary.
