Rajasthan has lost two male tigers in separate incidents in the Ranthambore National Park and the Sariska Tiger Reserve since Monday. A 13-year-old tiger died when it was tranquillised near Ranthambore on Tuesday, while a four-year-old died after it was caught in a snare in Sariska on Monday.
On Tuesday, a tiger strayed from the Ranthambore National Park and went too close to a village in Khandar area of Sawai Madhopur district, where villagers began attacking it. A team of forest officials rescued the big cat after tranquillising it, but the animal died shortly after it was shifted to the forest area.
The tiger at the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district died on Monday night after being caught in a snare laid by a farmer on an agricultural field adjacent to the forest area. The death of this radio-collared male, ST-11, comes close on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of a female tiger from Sariska, ST-5.
The farmland where the tiger got trapped is located in Kala Medha village of Indok area, where ‘Nilgais,’ or blue bulls, often stray into the farmland and destroy crops. The farmer, Bhagwan Sahay Prajapat, was arrested after he surrendered to the forest authorities.
‘Not poaching’
Rajasthan’s Chief Wildlife Warden G.V. Reddy told The Hindu that the death of the Sariska tiger was not a case of poaching. “The Forest Department is investigating the matter. The tiger died of strangulation when it got entangled in the metal wire of the snare,” he said.
ST-11 was the first tiger born in Sariska after the relocation of some big cats from the Ranthambore National Park to Sariska.
The tiger was born to ST-10 and grew up in the Decera lodge and Rampur areas of the forest reserve. It was fitted with a very high-frequency (VHF) radio collar for effective tracking in May last year.
The Forest Department has sought the help of scientists of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, for tracking the ST-5, which went off the radar on February 24.
