Wildlife activists are elated at the National Tiger Conservation Authority's nod to relocate three tigers from the Ranthambore National Park to Mukundra Hills tiger reserve, but are also concerned over the threat to the big cats from humans.
The proposal for the relocation of the tigers to Mukundra by December, 2017, was approved by the technical committee of NTCA last Friday in New Delhi, said S R Yadav, deputy conservator of forest Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR).
In the first phase, two female and one male tiger are proposed to be shifted by the year-end, possibly from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve to Mukundra, he said.
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The wildlife activists hoped it would boost to tourism in the region. However, they feared the big cat might fall prey to poachers like others in the past, amid the existing inadequate safety-and-security measures in Mukundra.
"The tiger population in the area has been dipping since 1978 and was eventually wiped out due to inadequate safety and security measures," said Vijay Kumar Salwan, a retired Indian Forest Service officer and wildlife activist.
In the existing conditions in the reserve, the tigers would be bound to lead a "psychologically stressed life" in the absence of total freedom, Salwan added.
He cited the example of a tigress, T-35, who had strayed from Ranthambore to the Sultanpur area of the Kota region in December, 2009, and died of suspected poisoning in March, 2016, by some villagers whose cattle were hunted by the big cat, he said.
He also gave an example of a tiger, popularly known as Broken Tail, who was run over by a train in Darrah wildlife sanctuary in 2003.
"If there were corridors, these two tigers could have been saved," he said, stressing the urgent need to develop corridors for the free movement of tigers in the Mukundra tiger reserve.
However, Yadav dispelled fears by saying "adequate safety measures" were in order.
"The preparations for the tiger habitation in Mukundra are in order and the prey base is ready," Yadav said, adding that the process to add at least 300 cheetals in the reserve from Jodhpur was underway.
"The shifting of the tigers in Mukundra will certainly boost tourism and help generate employment in Hadouti region," said Brajesh Vijayvargiya, another wildlife and water activist. He underlined the need to adopt advanced technologies to ensure the protection of the tigers.
Spread over an area of 759 sq kms, Mukundra Hills tiger reserve is the third such reserve in Rajasthan after Sariska in Alwar and Ranthambore in Sawai Madhopur. The reserve was notified as a tiger reserve in 2013, but got approval for tiger habitation only last week.
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