World | India
Tiger released in Sariska Reserve
After a prolonged wait, a male tiger literally landed on Saturday in Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve as part of a rehabilitation programme after the park lost all its big cats to poaching around three years ago.
- IANS
- Published: 00:15 June 29, 2008
Alwar: After a prolonged wait, a male tiger literally landed yesterday in Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve as part of a rehabilitation programme after the park lost all its big cats to poaching around three years ago.
"The exercise to bring in a tiger from Ranthambore National Park was completed in the afternoon," Rajasthan Chief Wildlife Warden R.N. Mehrotra said. The tiger was flown in by a helicopter from Ranthambore in a sedated condition.
Experts say the helicopter was used to save the tiger from the tedious four-hour road journey of some 240 kilometres between the two sanctuaries and to avoid exposure to heat.
First time ever
Senior officials of the state forest department and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, were present to supervise the exercise, which has been undertaken for the first time in the country.
The government decided to reintroduce tigers in Sariska after a report by the WII in March 2005 had confirmed that there were no big cats left in the reserve, although a census conducted the previous year had indicated the existence of 16 to 18 tigers.
The forest department had identified a three-year-old tiger in the Ranthambore National Park for relocation to Sariska.
Ranthambore, which is one of India's famous national parks, is a 494 square kilometre reserve in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district. It is home to around 32 Royal Bengal tigers, apart from 14 cubs that have also been sighted.
As per the breeding plan, a tigress is expected to join the male tiger after a gap of 15 days. Both animals would be radio collared and would initially be kept in an enclosed area where their activities would be monitored.
Spread over two hectares, the enclosed area is similar to the tiger's natural habitat and also has a water hole. The two would be fed with the live bait for some weeks and once they have acclimatised to the new habitat, would be let out into the wild.
Have you heard of similar attempts to re-populate areas whose wildlife has been wiped out? Were they successful? What more do you think can be done to ensure that other species do not face extinction? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.
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