NTCA’s nod awaited to release tigress from enclosure in Ramgarh

JAIPUR: To release the tigress, T-102 from the enclosure, the forest administration at the newly developed tiger reserve, Ramgarh Vishdhari has sought permission from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The tigress was recently shifted from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) to repopulate the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR), which was notified as a tiger reserve on May 16, 2022, after a nod from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in July 2021.
As the big cat is set to complete its 21 days quarantine period, the procedure has been started to release the tigress. However, the permission has yet not been received. A senior forest official said, “The tigress has acclimatized with the new conditions. Her health is also being monitored and she is fit to be released. The permission has been sought from the NTCA and then she will be released.”
Learning a lesson from the past, the state forest department is moving cautiously in releasing the tigress. Recently, after the relocation, the NTCA had questioned the state government’s move. Taking cognizance of the reports claiming that the tiger relocation was a violation of the NTCA norms, and that permission was not taken from NTCA for relocation, the authority on Monday called the RTR official with a factual report.
A senior official said, the relocation was done after receiving permission from the chief wildlife warden as the tigress was straying in the fields near the boundary of the Reserve and needed to be rescued. “The facts were presented at the NTCA, and assurance was given the tigress will be safe and released after its permission. We are waiting for the nod,” said an official.
Sources said, after the first tigress is released into the wild, the forest department will bring another tigress to the Ramgarh reserve from Ranthambore. “As the tigress is already in the enclosure, another big cat cannot be brought. The department has finalised tigress T-119 to relocate next.”