Animal

India bids emotional farewell to tigress ‘supermum’ who helped save a national park


Collarwali died at Pench Tiger Reserve in central India on Saturday (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Animal lovers in India have said an emotional goodbye to a nationally famous tigress credited with helping to repopulate a forest.

Collarwali, died at Pench Tiger Reserve in central India on Saturday, following an intestinal problem and complications due to her age.

She was more than 16 years old.

The tigress became famous and was dubbed ‘supermum’ by local press after giving birth to a record 29 cubs – 25 of which survived to adulthood.

She was credited with rejuvenating the local tiger population and drew visitors from across India to an area purported to be the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s famed ‘Jungle Book’ anthology.

Collarwali also appeared in the BBC wildlife documentary Spy in the Wild, which followed the lives of four tiger cubs over a period of two years.

Her unusual name – which translates to ‘with collar’ in English – came about after she became the first big cat in the reserve to be radio-collared in 2008.

Following Collarwali’s death, conservation officers held a funeral for her where her body, garlanded with flowers, was burnt on a funeral pyre in line with Hindu rites.

Sombre conservation officers said goodbye to Collarwali by holding her a special funeral (Picture: AFP)

‘The tigress was very popular at the reserve and with the local community,’ Alok Mishra, field director of the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh state, said.

‘She was the first tiger to get a collar at the reserve,’ he said.

‘That was the reason she became very famous… the collar ensured that she was very well documented and well known.’

Footage of Collarwali prowling her habitat was shared on social media after news of her death, along with an outpouring of heartfelt tributes.

‘Wildlife lovers and enthusiasts will understand how heartbreaking it is, when a majestic tigress goes into silence forever,’ one user wrote on Twitter.

Collarwali was famous across India (Picture: AP)
Collarwali gave birth to a record 29 cubs earning her the name ‘supermum’ (Picture: AP)

‘RIP, Queen of Pench. You lived long and majestically,’ said another.

‘You ruled the food chain and because of you an entire forest was alive.’

India is home to around 75% of the world’s remaining tigers, but hunting and habitat loss have slashed the population to dangerously low levels.

The sheer number of cubs Collarwali had has been credited with boosting the Pench reserve population, with many saying her legacy will be celebrated long after her death.

Tigers in the wild usually live up to 10 years of age, but in captivity live to around 22.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.