Rajasthan: Pugmarks of missing tigress MT-4 discovered at Mukundra reserve

JAIPUR: Fresh pugmarks of tigress MT-4 were discovered on Sunday and have come as a relief for the state forest administration, which had launched an intense combing operation to trace the last two surviving tigers at Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR).
According to sources, the pugmarks were seen at Mor Khali region of the Mashalpura range of the reserve. The forest department had come under fire when MT-4 was found to have disappeared from MHTR for about a fortnight from August 19 when it was last photographed. However, a massive hunt on Sunday helped officials trace the tigress after finding fresh pugmarks.

A day before the tigress, male tiger MT-1 had also gone missing. But no traces of the big cat has been found. A press statement issued by MHTR administration said, “During monitoring, the team found evidence of the movement of tigress MT-4. No evidence of the movement of MT-1 was found. The work to install additional camera traps in the 2sqkm area is in progress.”As per records, the camera trap picture of MT-1, the first tiger of Mukundra, was captured on August 18. The tiger was living inside an 80sqkm enclosure in Mashalpura, located at the southern end of MHTR. Similarly, the picture of MT-4, brought from Ranthambore National Park (RNP) in April 2019 and was outside the enclosure, was captured on camera trap a day later on August 19.
After the big cats went missing, the chief wildlife warden (CWLW) camped at MHTR to track them. Along with massive foot patrolling, the forest department also used a drone to find out the probable location of the big cats. A team of trackers from RNP was also pressed into service.
“The pugmarks were found by the trackers of RNP. They were recorded from the Mor Khali region of Mashalpura,” sources said.