Nestled in the Aravali Hills, Sariska National Park (Rajasthan, India) today, welcomed a male tiger flown in from Ranthambore National Park. This is the first time a big cat has been relocated from one forest to another. Sariska has been an abode for tigers in India and was one of the seats of Project Tiger in India. But in 2004, the tiger population was wiped out completely from this national park by Sansarchand and other poachers.

After this episode of national shame, the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had been thinking about relocating tigers in this area. The proposal to relocate tigers from another national park with relatively large number of tigers (Ranthambore) was cleared by the PM himself sensing the seriousness of the matter. So, the king of the jungle was given a royal treatment and was flown into the park’s Nayapani area in a tranquilized state.

The Indian Air Force was only too happy to join in and provided a MI-17 helicopter to carry the beast. This 3.5yr old male weighing 220 kg is the first among others to be relocated. The WII and NTCA have plans to relocate a tigress in coming week. Other tigers will be brought in Sariska in a period of few months to effectively initiate tiger breeding programs at the national park.

To prevent the sad events of 2004, this time all the relocated tigers will be tightly monitored using GPS collars. These collars help in keeping a close eye over the movements of animals using satellite-based tracking systems. Besides WII officials alongwith Sariska officials will strictly monitor the new king in the region which awaits a name as yet. Also, watchtowers have been set up near Nayapani to observe the settling-down process of the park’s latest inmate.

The event is indeed promising. Here’s wishing good luck to the big cat!

Via TOI