Four tigers missing for a year from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve

An official said the tigers may have moved out and gone to Madhya Pradesh. Such movements have been reported earlier too, but the possibility of their death also cannot be ruled out

Four tigers, including two sub-adults, have not been sighted in Rajasthan’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve for a year now, people aware of the matter said. Efforts were being made to trace them, but the possibility of their death due to infighting cannot be ruled out, they added.

Representational Image.

The people said the movement of the tigers was last captured on camera in the reserve’s non-tourism zone in March 2020. The two sub-adults were second litters of tigress T-73, who is among the missing big cats.

An official of the reserve, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it is spread over 1,700 square km area that also includes dense forests. That the tigers have gone missing cannot be confirmed in haste, the official added. The official said the tigers may have moved out and gone to Madhya Pradesh. Such movements have been reported earlier too.

The official emphasised that there are limited cameras installed in the forest areas and sometimes they do not capture the movement of big cats. The reserve’s administration is trying to locate the tigers and has written to authorities in nearby districts and the Madhya Pradesh forest department for help.

At least 26 big cats have gone missing from the reserve over the last 10 years. Tigers named T-42 Fateh and T-47 Mohan have been missing from the reserve since January 2020.

Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota, which was populated two years back with four tigers and three cubs, now has just one tigress. Two tigers and a cub have died, while three have gone missing.