Sariska tigers relocation success story started before 2014: Jairam Ramesh

Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that 15 years ago, the tiger population in the Sariska Tiger Reserve had been reduced to zero, but the relocation of the big cats from Ranthambore and elsewhere to that reserve proved to be a "remarkable success story that started much before 2014".

His remarks came over a media report that said the tiger population at Sariska hit its highest mark in three decades at 30, with the birth of two cubs. According to the report, the cubs were born to ST-19 and the trio was captured on camera in the buffer zone of the park near Alwar on July 6.

Tagging the report, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Just 15 years ago the tiger population in the sprawling Sariska Tiger Reserve had been completely wiped out. It had reduced to precisely ZERO."

Relocation was then considered to revive Sariska but it faced great opposition including from some tiger experts, he said.

"However, relocation from Ranthambore and elsewhere began and today there are 30 tigers in Sariska whose carrying capacity is at least 40. A remarkable success story that started much before 2014!" said Ramesh, who headed the ministry of environment and forests from May 2009 to July 2011.