Sariska tiger sedated, caught

After three days of intensive search, the Ranthambore and Sariska Tiger Reserve teams successfully tranquillized Sariska tiger ST-2402 on Friday.

- HT Correspondent

JAIPUR: The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR), originally designed to accommodate 45 to 50 tigers, currently houses 77 big cats, leading to an alarming rise in territorial fights.

Two weeks back, a fierce fight broke out between a young tiger, T-2309, and a six-year-old dominant male, T-120 (Ganesh). The confrontation ended with the death of the younger tiger. This is not an isolated incident. Over the last two years, 16 tigers have died in the reserve, with territorial fights being the primary cause in 10 of these cases.

While the 30% growth in the big cat population over the last decade is positive, it also raises concerns over the lack of adequate space for tigers to mark their territories.

From 59 tigers in 2014, the current population in the reserve has reached 77, residing in an area of 1,334 square kilometers. This makes it the third most congested tiger habitat in India, after Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand and Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

According to the NTCA's Phase-IV Tiger Census, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) currently has 77 big cats, including 29 males, 32 females, and 16 cubs.

Of these, over a dozen adults aged 3-5 years have no territory and are moving around the periphery, which is a matter of concern.

While the number of tigers in Ranthambhore National Park is continuously increasing, the park is also making headlines due to the rising number of tiger deaths. In the past two years, 16 tigers, tigresses, and cubs have died in the park, with territorial fights being the cause in 10 of these deaths.