“The tiger cubs were spotted in the morning shift of tiger safari. They were roaming around with their mother T-8,” Nature Guides Association president Atiq Mohammad said Monday.
The sight enthralled the tourists who frantically took pictures of the cubs and their mother.
“The cubs strayed in the forest area, but the mother continued to hang around,” Atiq added.
The guides, who had taken the tourists into the park, immediately informed the authorities. “We have set up 3-4 trap cameras in the area and increased tracking,” said a senior park officer.
According to forest officials, the park houses 31 adult tigers. Other wild animals found there include leopards, wild pigs, deer species and monkeys.
Ranthambore National Park is spread over an area of around 400 sq km. If the adjoining Sawai Man Singh sanctuary, over 175 km from Jaipur, is taken into consideration, the total area is around 500 sq km.
The park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1957, and gained the protection of the central government’s Project Tiger scheme in 1974. It was designated a national park in 1981.
The latest tiger census puts the total number of tigers in India at 1,706, marking an increase of 295 over the last census in 2006.
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