In a disheartening scene, two frightened tiger cubs were pelted with stones in a village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh. The cubs, a little over a year old, were at Pipaltai pond near Baelgaon village to quench their thirst but had to face the wrath of villagers, who had gone plucking tendu leaves.
The videos of the shocking incident show people throwing large stones at the tiger cubs, one of which appeared to be limping due to an injury. Even though some villagers were trying to stop others from stone-pelting, to no avail. The videos have drawn severe backlash and outrage on social media.
The forest officials later rescued the tiger cubs and are being offered treatment.
"The cubs, around 14-15 months old, might have come there to drink water. The villagers surrounded them with sticks. Police and forest personnel reached the spot. A rescue team from Pench Tiger Reserve arrived at around 2:45pm. In a one-hour long operation, the cubs were caged and transferred to Kanha rescue centre," Chief Conservator of Forest (Seoni Circle) SS Udde said.
The tiger cubs are being treated by senior wildlife experts at the Kanha rescue centre. The forest officials are looking for the mother of the cubs and they will be released into the wild after treatment.
Netizens angry at the mob
Meanwhile, netizens have expressed anger and demanding strict action against those who were pelting stones at the tiger cubs.
Despicable!
— Parimal Nathwani (@mpparimal) May 18, 2022
It is sad to know that stones were pelted on 2 tiger cubs who came to drink water in a village at Seoni, #MadhyaPradesh. Strict actions must be taken against culprits & people must be sensitised to avoid such incidences. @minforestmp @moefcc @WWFINDIA @wti_org_india pic.twitter.com/iSqSc8nBxW
