It will be a few months before Sultan, the four-year-old tiger brought to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) all the way from Nagpur for breeding, gets to mingle with the tigresses in the park. Forest officials said Sultan will undergo a battery of medical tests before he is introduced to the females. The tests are important to ensure he has no infections and is not a threat to the other animal population.
According to Anwar Ahmed, director of the SGNP, Sultan will be kept in isolation for a fortnight. “When animals are brought to the park from other locations, we keep them in isolation for some time,” said Mr. Ahmed, adding that Sultan will undergo a series of medical tests to check if he is infected with any diseases before he can mate.
“The tiger will also take some time to get familiar with the new environment before he can start mating,” Mr. Ahmed said.
Veterinarian Dr. Shailesh Pethe, who works at SNGP, said Sultan will be allowed to breed with any of the tigresses with whom he develops a bond.
Sultan was brought to Mumbai from the Gorewada Rescue Centre in Nagpur on Thursday. The SGNP has been home to four tigresses — Bijli (9), Mastani (9), Laxmi (10) and Basanti (18) — and one male tiger Anand (10).
“Anand is the brother of two of the tigresses and so cannot mate with them, as they don’t interbreed. Therefore, we had to ask for a tiger to continue breeding among them and increase the population,” Mr. Ahmed said.
The national park nestled in the midst of a bustling city earlier housed many more tigers and lions. “The park was home to nearly 20 lions, but today we have only three. Many of them die of old age. We also send our animals to other places, just like we got Sultan here from Nagpur,” he said.
