T-25, the 15-year-old male tiger which raised orphan cubs, dies

T-25, the 15-year old male tiger, which raised two orphan cubs, has died in a suspected territorial fight in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve of Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district, forest officials said on Monday (January 20).

T-25’s carcass was found in Sanwata area of the tiger reserve. The postmortem has been conducted, a forest official said. “The suspected cause of death is a territorial fight. The tiger’s head bone was crushed,” the official said. The tiger’s movement was mostly seen in Khandar area of the reserve.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said it was sad to know about the death of the tiger. “Sad news from the wildlife that Ranthambore’s famous tiger T-25 is no more. It was magnanimous tiger, who took care of two orphan cubs, displaying fatherly instincts in raising and protecting them to the surprise of conservationists. T-25 will be missed,” Gehlot tweeted.

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The tiger took care of twin orphan cubs of T-5 tigress. Forest officials said T-5 died in 2011 and was survived by two female cubs of around three months. There was serious concern over their survival, the official said.

“It was then T-25 came into the picture and started protecting them from other tigers and animals. He used to stay close to them and even allowed to eat with him, which is a rare phenomenon,” the official added.