FIR filed after man touches tiger cubs at Rajasthan's Ranthambore National Park

The undated video shows the man entering a large water pipe, where the cubs were sheltering, touching and playing with them while recording the act on camera, officials said on Friday.

According to park officials, the incident occurred near the Devpura Dam in the Phalodi Range, where a tigress identified as T-2302 has given birth to three cubs inside the pipe.

The FIR has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, under different sections namely Section 27: Restriction on entry into a sanctuary, Section 50: Powers of entry, search, arrest, and detention; and Section 51 which includes penalties for violations.

Ranthambore Divisional Forest Officer, Ramanand Bhakar, confirmed the investigation is underway to identify the individual and determine how he managed to reach such a sensitive zone.

The man's identity has not yet been confirmed.

Tigers are classified as a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, and Project Tiger, launched in 1973, is India's flagship conservation programme aimed at preserving tigers and their natural habitats.

Ranthambore National Park, home to around 80 tigers, is one of the country's key reserves under this initiative.

Wildlife conservationists had called the incident a "serious lapse" in park security and management.

"How could someone venture into a critical tiger habitat that is supposed to be completely protected? If the forest department was aware of the presence of cubs, wasn't it standard procedure to increase vigilance and install camera traps?" they asked.

"Ranthambore is, unfortunately, making headlines for the wrong reasons. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) should take strict cognisance of this and ensure its guidelines are properly enforced," they added.

Actually, visuals of a villager touching a newborn tiger cub -- belonging to tigress T-2302 -- inside a concrete pipe in the Daulda–Devpura Dam region of the Phalaudi Range in Ranthambore National Park surfaced on Thursday, raising serious concerns over ongoing lapses in wildlife monitoring at the reserve.

The shocking incident is the latest in a series of security and surveillance failures at the park, which has been under scrutiny for poor monitoring of its tiger population and for the forest department's inability to prevent man-animal conflict.

In the past month, a forest ranger and a seven-year-old child lost their lives in separate incidents within the reserve.

There have also been reports of tigers charging at individuals who entered their territory.

According to forest sources, tigress T-2302 was recently seen sheltering inside a concrete pipe near Devpura Dam with her three newborn cubs.

The villager reportedly spotted the tigress and her cubs, entered the pipe, and not only captured photos and videos on his mobile phone but also touched one of the cubs.

"He entered the pipe and not only managed to photograph the cubs on his mobile phone but also petted them," said a source familiar with the incident.