BHOPAL, Oct 11: Two tiger cubs were found dead in Bandhavgarh sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. The sanctuary falls in Umaria district.

A report said the parent feline could have been around the place as pug marks of a tigress were found in the vicinity. The carcasses have been disposed of as per wildlife rules, it is learnt. It is also reported that forest guards had noticed strange behaviour in them in the very same place on Friday night. They were newborns, just a few days old, it is said.

The deaths come as a setback to the State's efforts to reclaim the tiger tag from Karnataka. Tiger cubs are sighted at the State's sanctuaries now and then. Forty six tiger cubs were sighted on camera in Bandhavgarh some years ago. Earlier seven of them were found in Satpura Tiger Reserve which comprises parts of Madhya Pradesh's Hoshnagabad, Betul and Chhindwara districts.