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NTCA approves Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve request for tiger transfer
Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve field director Sedu Ram Yadav said NTCA technical committee has cleared its proposal on tiger transfer.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) technical committee has approved Rajasthan’s proposal to shift two tigers to Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. The reserve lost two tigers and two cubs in 2020 and is left with an eight-year-old tigress, a senior forest official said.
The reserve’s field director, Sedu Ram Yadav said the authority’s technical committee has conveyed its approval to shift tigers to the reserve but they are yet to receive a formal communication.
The move came after a committee constituted by NTCA inspected the reserve last year, and gave recommendations to be followed to strengthen the habitat for the big cats.
A senior forest official familiar with the development said the NTCA has recommended steps such as increasing the prey base, making the reserve disturbance-free with village relocation, and other steps. The prey base has increased and the village relocation is being done.
“The recommendations of the committee are being implemented – around 500 chitals are being brought from Ghana Bird Sanctuary to increase prey base; relocation of the village is under process and additional security measures are being taken,” Yadav said.
Yadav said they had proposed shifting of male and female tigers; and releasing the reserve’s lone tigress, MT-4 from the enclosure.
A second official said NTCA has advised that the tigers be released on the Seljar range of the reserve, instead of Darrah range. “Seljar range is on the northern side of the reserve and has a better prey base,” he said.
Meanwhile, officials said they are still looking for the tiger, ST-13, who had gone missing a little over a month ago from the Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
The 8-year-old tiger was last tracked on January 15, and since then the STR administration is conducting combing operations to locate him. It had a radio collar placed about 4.5 years ago but it has stopped working.
The reserve was recently in the news as three leopards were poached outside the buffer area of STR. The carcasses were recovered on January 16, just 3 km away from the STR, which in 2005 lost all its tigers to poaching. Currently, the STR has 25 big cats.
