Tigress to be moved out of Ranthambore Reserve over fights with sibling

Ridhi and Sidhi are daughters of tigress Arrowhead and have been often caught fighting over the last eight months. People aware of the matter termed this a third generation of conflict between mother and daughters for zone-3 of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR).

Months after two-and-a-half-year-old tigress Ridhi sustained 14 stitches on her tongue due to a territorial fight with her sibling Siddhi at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved a proposal to shift her to the Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR).

The RTR has 77 tigers, including 27 cubs and sub-adults living in an area of 1,334 square km (HT file photo. Representative image)

Ridhi and Sidhi are daughters of tigress Arrowhead and have been often caught fighting over the last eight months.

People aware of the matter termed this a third generation of conflict between mother and daughters for zone-3 of the RTR – first it was Macchli and her daughter Krishna; then Krishna and her daughter Arrowhead; Arrowhead and her daughter Ridhi; and now Ridhi and Sidhi.

RTR field director TC Verma attributed the fights to rising tiger population and reducing green space at the reserve. “The big cat population is rising at the reserve, and they need space. We have sought approval to shift more. Ridhi is being shifted due to territorial fights.”

The RTR has 77 tigers, including 27 cubs and sub-adults living in an area of 1,334 square km, making it the third most congested habitats for felines in India, after Corbett National Park and Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

Ridhi will be shifted to Sariska soon after the state government nod is received, he added.