JAIPUR: After witnessing constant territorial fights between tiger siblings Riddhi and Siddhi at Ranthambore National Park (RNP), the state forest department is planning to shift one of the big cats to Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR).
The proposal was floated after tigress Riddhi was grievously injured in a fight and received 14 stitches on the tongue. A forest official said, “These tigresses are daughters of Arrowhead (T-84) and inhabitants of areas which fall in zones 3 and 4 of RTR. The two have been indulging in a fight over the territory for some time and in the last three months, more than five fights have been recorded over territory. It’s under consideration to shift the tigress to another territory. Sariska is the best suitable option.”
The idea has, however, not gone well with the wildlife experts and enthusiasts as they believe shifting would give birth to several issues including inbreeding. It is claimed that suspected inbreeding has deterred the steady tiger population growth at Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR).
As per the records, nine tigers have been relocated from RNP till date. Out of these, five relocated big cats were females and four never delivered a cub at Sariska. The relocated tigress ST-3 is now around 14 years old and ST-5, which was poached in 2018, was also cubless. The tigresses named ST-7 and ST-8 could be facing the same fate as they are now over 8 years old and have not yet delivered any litters.
Founder of Sariska Tiger Foundation and wildlife patron Dinesh Durrani said, “The state government should involve wildlife scientists to review the relocation programme before shifting more tigresses to STR. We believe that one of the potential causes could be inbreeding.”
“Several states like Maharashtra and MP with high numbers of tiger population are willing to participate in the exchange of tigers in order to diversify the gene pool of the species which will directly result in improving the chances of survival and production of offsprings,” Durrani said.
It was also suggested to shift the tigress to the Ramgarh Vishdhari wildlife sanctuary as the forest department is already deliberating on upgrading the sanctuary to tiger reserve. Tapeshwar Singh Bhati, president of Mukundra Hills Environment and Wildlife Society, Kota says, “For the past eight months, a male tiger is living in sanctuary after migrating from Ranthambore. The forest should also keep an option open to pair up the tigress with the male.”