AHMEDABAD: The talk of Gujarat now being home to more than one tiger got some oxygen, as a resident of Boriya village in Lunawada taluka of Mahisagar district , asserted that he had seen a tiger with two cubs . The villager Bhala Kala Damor said the tiger killed four of his goats and was accompanied by cubs. The attack took place at Gadh village, which is near Boriya village.This is also not the first time such news has been reported. There were earlier claims that a tiger with two cubs had been seen, but this was put aside by saying the animal was a leopard. “On Friday afternoon, I had taken my goats to graze, when I realized that there was a tiger near me. I turned around to see that the tiger had two cubs with it. Before I could do anything, the tiger had killed three goats and was dragging one into the bushes.”Damor said, “I began to run away from the area. I knew that if the tiger sees me running it would attack me and I hence I climbed a tree. I later called some villagers who came to the spot, after which I got down.”Damor says he is sure that he saw a tiger with two cubs. The forest department was also called, and they studied the goat kills. Deputy conservator of forests R M Parmar declined to comment on the issue.A senior forest officer in the area said, “In the last week of January there were reports from residents of Lunawada that they had seen a tiger with two cubs, but the department, after failing to get evidence, dismissed it as a leopard.”A senior officer said that if the tiger is seen with cubs, it is likely there is a mating pair as a tigress would not travel long distances with cubs, that too without being noticed. If there are cubs here, it is likely there is a mating pair in the vicinity and the cubs were born in the same area. The officer said the department should bring in NTCA experts as Gujarat foresters have never handled tigers.Officials said that expert trackers from Gir should also be brought here to get a proper picture, so the state can start taking proper conservation measures.

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