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Four-year-old tigress translocated from Corbett National Park to Rajaji
The Centre approved the tiger translocation to the reserve in 2016. Five tigers, including three females, will be translocated there from Corbett Tiger Reserve.
A four-year-old tigress was on Thursday translocated from Corbett National Park as part of a project to repopulate Rajaji Tiger Reserve’s western part. The reserve that is home to two tigresses, who have not bred for almost a decade, is located around 150 km from the park in Uttarakhand.
The Centre approved the tiger translocation to the reserve in 2016. Five tigers, including three females, will be translocated there from Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Uttarakhand’s chief wildlife warden JS Suhag said the four-year-old tigress was tranquillised and radio-collared at Corbett on Wednesday and translocated in an ambulance overnight. “It was released in a temporary enclosure in the Motichur Range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve in the early morning hours of Thursday.”
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“This is the first tigress to be translocated in Uttarakhand and has been released in an enclosure. We are monitoring its health. It takes time for an animal to get accustomed to the new environment or else it could suffer trauma... The translocated tigress is completely healthy.”
He said two veterinary officers monitored the health of the tigress during the transportation process. “There was also provision for oxygen supply,” said Suhag. He added two other forest staff members were also present in the ambulance used for translocation.
DK Singh, director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, said, “We will be monitoring the health status of the tigress for a few days in the temporary enclosure before releasing it in the wild.” He added after its release, the tigress’ movements will be monitored. Singh said another tiger will be translocated within a few weeks.
A National Tiger Conservation Authority team in September 2019 visited Rajaji to conduct reconnaissance for the translocation exercise and suggested a soft release of a pair of tigers in the reserve’s western side. A soft release means that tigers are released in a large enclosed area where they are kept for a few days to monitor their health before they are released in the wild.
Rajaji Tiger Reserve has around 37 tigers and only two tigresses in its western part spread over 570 sq km. The reserve has a capacity for 83 tigers. The reserve’s eastern and the western part are divided by a busy traffic corridor, making it difficult for the tigers to move between the two parts.
