Two tigresses have been missing for around a fortnight from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur, an official said on Tuesday.
Deputy conservator of forests Manas Singh said five teams were formed and over 100 CCTV cameras installed to trace the tigresses amid territorial disputes and conflicts. He added officials were also carrying out foot patrols to find them. Singh said the reserve has a carrying capacity of 45 to 55 tigers, but has 77.
Weaker tigers and tigresses are forced to leave their territories due to fear of more dominant big cats. Tigress RBT 2504 (Maahi), one of the tigresses, was earlier seen clashing with her mother, Riddhi, in an attempt to take over her territory. It has not been sighted since then. Tigress RBT 2510, daughter of tigress T-107 (Sultana), has also left the tiger reserve.