The relocating of a six-year-old tiger codenamed T-12 to Sariska Tiger Reserve from the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur has resulted in a fresh controversy.
Some experts are claiming that the only breeding tiger in the Ranthambore National Park (RNP) has been taken to the Sariska reserve, thereby creating a major “vacuum” in Rajasthan’s predominant sanctuary which presently has 44 tigers. Fateh Singh Rathore, vice-president of Tiger Watch, claims, “The tiger taken to Sariska had mated with a tigress who is about to give birth to cubs. By moving this tiger out at this time will only serve to endanger the lives of the cubs.” Mr Rathore also feels that this tiger was mating with another tigress in the RNP and therefore was not an “appropriate” choice.
Rajasthan’s chief wildlife warden R.N. Mehrotra dismisses this criticism as being uncalled for. He said, “Selection was made after following all the international protocols laid down by the Wildlife Institute of India. This particular tiger was put under a monitoring protocol as were three other shortlisted tigers living in the periphery of the RNP.”
“Studies on tigers show that while tigers begin copulating from the age of two-and-a-half years, they become sexually procreative from the age of five onwards. We had sent a younger tiger to Sariska earlier on and we are confident that he too will soon procreate. The male tiger sent to Panna tiger reserve was seven years of age and the reserve has been blessed with a litter. It is for this reason that we selected a six-year-old tiger for Sariska,” Mr Mehrotra added.
Mr Mehrotra insists that tiger experts are ready to jump the gun with their criticism without giving due diligence to ground realities. “The DNA of the tiger (T-12) was taken before sending him to Sariska but we are confident that the other tiger sent in 2008 will also procreate,” he insisted.
Nevertheless, the National Tiger Conservation Authority has adopted a more cautious approach and has got the National Centre for Biological Sciences to conduct the DNA tests of male and female tigers before having them relocaed.
In all, eight tigers had their DNA tests conducted from which only two were selected. While the male tiger has already reached Sariska, the female will follow in early August. The other six tigers were rejected on the grounds that they had a high degree of relatedness with the big cats in Sariska.