A reported tiger sighting has led to an operation to locate and track the animal in Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) even as wildlife activists have demanded that separate tiger habitats be demarcated at the Reserve.
The reserve had been a home for several years to Tigress T-35, which was found dead in suspicious conditions in the Reserve on March 27 this year and no tiger has been sighted since then. Forest officials suspect that a tiger may have strayed in from the Ranthambore National Park.
"A loco pilot of Western Express Train last night claimed that he saw the tiger near Dara railway station along the railway track, following which an operation was launched to confirm the presence of the tiger," said Deepak Gupta, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) of the Reserve.
Experts and forest personnel have been deployed in Gagrone, Rawata and Dara ranges of the reserve and 19 tracking CCTV cameras have been installed at possible locations to track the tiger, Gupta further said.
Possible presence of the tiger in the area cannot be ruled out as locals around Dara railway station have also reported to have noticed the animal, Gupta said, adding that its presence has not been confirmed so far.
"The tiger is likely to have strayed from Ranthambore National Park as the animal in past has taken the same corridor," he added.
In July, 2003, in a similar incident a tiger named 'Broken Tail' had strayed from Ranthambore into Mukundra and its foot prints were noticed in Salzer region but it was killed after being crushed by a moving train on a railway track, said Gupta.
In order to avoid such mishap, efforts are on to trace the animal for its safety and security, he added.
Loco pilot I P Singh said that he saw the tiger near a pole on Mumbai down track last night and reported the presence of tiger to nearby Kavalpura station master.
"It was a tiger along the railway track and I and my assistant noticed the animal for about 10 to 15 seconds," said Singh.
"Realising the importance of national animal, I immediately informed the senior officials about it," he added.
Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, stretching over an area of 750 acre square kilometres, was declared Tiger Reserve on April 9, 2013 and since then has been a regular home to tigers.
Brajesh Vijayvergeya, wildlife activist in Kota, said the presence of tiger in the reserve could only be confirmed after the foot prints are traced.
"Possibilities are there that the tiger might have moved to Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve from Ranthambore, since it has always been a possible home the tigers from Ranthambore," Vijayvergeya said.
He further said that the concerned departments should now construct a Tiger Habitat in the reserve and localities which falls within the reserve should be relocated to other areas.
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