Amrabad tigress Farha set to become great-grandmother
HYDERABAD: Tigress Farha, the matriarch of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, is poised to cross a rare milestone this year, with three generations from her lineage breeding in the wild.
Three generations breed in one year
Reserve officials said one of Farha’s granddaughters is pregnant, placing the reserve on course to welcome cubs across three generations in 2025.
From Farhabad to matriarch
Known as F6, Farha was named after the Farhabad range, which she claimed as her territory at about two-and-a-half years of age. She delivered her first litter in 2019 and has since produced four litters, totalling nine cubs. Officials are awaiting confirmation of three more cubs this year. Now nearing 10 years, she remains in her prime.
Farhabad, located deep inside the reserve’s core area, also houses the ruins of a hunting lodge of the Nizams, a site frequently visited by sloth bears and leopards.
Daughter and granddaughter step up
F18, Farha’s first-born female from 2019, has already delivered two litters and is reported to have had another this year. One of F18’s first-born females from 2021, numbered F38, has become a first-time mother, though officials are yet to confirm the litter size.
As is typical behaviour, Farha has ceded her original territory to F18 and moved deeper into the forest. During the ongoing safari season, F18 has been sighted periodically during morning and evening safaris.
“This is a moment of celebration. Every cub is a celebration,” a senior reserve official said, responding to whether the reserve would mark Farha becoming a great-grandmother.
The development underscores the steady recovery of the tiger population in the forests of the Nallamala Hills.
