A seven-month-old female tiger cub was discovered dead in mysterious circumstances at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, officials reported on Wednesday.

The cub is thought to have died in a struggle with another tiger, according to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) FS Ninama.

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The official reported that the dead cub’s carcass was located next to the pugmarks of another tiger.

Officials also disclosed that dog squads had been called in to assist with the continuing investigation into the incident.

With 785 big cats living there, Madhya Pradesh once again became known as a tiger state last month.

The state has topped the list of the biggest number of tigers and once again earned the title of tiger state, according to the most recent statistics, “Status of Tigers Co-predators & Prey in India, 2022,” given by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on the occasion of International Tiger Day.

Another  female tiger cub that was 7-8 months old was murdered earlier in April during an attack by a male tiger.

With 785 tigers, Madhya Pradesh has the highest tiger population in the nation, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).

According to the NTCA research, Madhya Pradesh has the highest concentration of tiger reserves in the country, with six total, including the Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Pench, Satpura, and Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserves.

The Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has the most tigers per square mile in Bandhavgarh (135), Kanha (105) and Pench (77).

Interestingly, nine cheetahs, including three cubs, have died at the Kuno National Park (KNP) since March this year.

On September 17, 2022, eight cheetahs were airlifted from Namibia to the KNP, and 12 more were transferred there from South Africa in February. The KNP now has 15 cheetahs, including a cub, after nine cheetahs died, including three of the four cubs born here in March, died.

The most recent cheetah loss occurred on August 2. After the species was deemed extinct in the nation in 1952, cheetahs were introduced to the KNP as part of a reintroduction attempt.