Collarwali: India pays tribute to ‘supermom’ tigress credited with saving an entire national park
She gave birth to 29 cubs during her lifetime and was credited with saving an entire national tiger reserve
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Your support makes all the difference.A 16-year-old tigress in India who birthed 29 cubs during her lifetime, earning the nickname “supermom” and single-handedly saving a national park, passed away due to old age.
The tigress, fondly known as Collarwali, died of complications due to her age, the Pench Tiger Reserve’s park chief Ashok Kumar Mishra said.
“Supermom” was the first feline to be radio-collared at Madhya Pradesh’s Pench tiger reserve in 2008, earning the name Collarwali [which roughly translates to one with a collar].
Mr Mishra said: “It is rare for a tigress to give birth to 29 cubs, including five in one go, and successfully raise 25, this perhaps earned her the title of Supermom among wildlife lovers.”
Several visuals shared online showed people paying her last respects to the tigress, who was also known to be the most photographed in the world according to the local media.
Her body was garlanded with flowers and she was cremated as per Hindu rites.
Many attended her funeral as well. Many were seen in photos and videos folding their hands to show respect to the tigress.
On social media, several wildlife enthusiasts paid their tributes to the “Supermom” tigress Collarwali.
“Tribute to the ‘Super Tigress Mom’…The forests of Madhya Pradesh will always resonate with the roar of the cubs of the ‘Queen of Pench Tiger Reserve’,” chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote on Twitter.
Sachin Tendulkar, a cricket legend wrote: “Wildlife lovers and enthusiasts will understand how heartbreaking it is, when a majestic tigress goes into silence forever. Rest in peace, Collarwali.”
Aditi Garg, an Indian Administrative Services officer, wrote: “RIP Queen of Pench. You lived long and majestically. You ruled the food chain and because of you, an entire forest was alive. #collarwali”
According to a 2018 census, India has 2,967 big cats and is home to about 75 per cent of the world’s tiger population.
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