After three long and barren years, Sariska regained its stripes as a tiger reserve today, carrying out what experts said was the world’s first “scientifically planned” relocation of the big cat.

The 881sqkm national park in Alwar had made headlines in 2004-05 when unchecked poaching turned its cat count into zero.

That shame was erased around 12.30 this afternoon when a tranquillised male tiger, which had taken off from a makeshift helipad at Ranthambore National Park, completed its 200km flight to land at Nayapani, Sariska. The star guest was then let into a soft, specially prepared enclosure.

Ranthambore has 40 to 45 tigers, including 14 cubs, and has been faced with a problem of plenty with reports of territorial fights. The older tigers are said to have chased some of the younger ones out of the forest.

Experts said there were plans to bring two more tigers, a male and a female, from Ranthambore to Sariska but only after watching how the first animal adapts to its new home.

“Although wounded tigers have been relocated from the wild to the zoo in the past, and also from one zoo to another, this operation is the first scientifically planned operation in the world,” Indian tiger conservationist Belinda Wright told The Telegraph.

“If the tiger is able to adapt to Sariska, it will help improve the gene pool, increase the animals’ number and save them from extinction.”

The tiger has been fitted with a satellite radio-collar, which will allow officials to track its movements. Once it gets used to its new surroundings, the enclosure door will be opened so it can wander off into the forest, rich in prey, to establish its own territory.

Under the Rs 1.5-crore relocation plan, 11 villages are to be shifted from Sariska’s core areas to reduce forest traffic and improve the ecosystem. But till now only one small village of 21 families, Bhagani, has been shifted and the rest of the villages are being persuaded with a hefty compensation package.

Traffic, however, remains heavy with some 2,500 people and 35,000 cattle living inside the sanctuary in 28 villages, and another 200 villages surrounding the park.

The Central Tiger Task Force, headed by Sunita Narain, had specified the conditions for reintroduction of tigers into Sariska. After this, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Institute of India (Dehra Dun), World Wide Fund for Nature and the Rajasthan wildlife department had prepared for the big event for over a year.

“The whole plan was a risk but it has been a risk worth taking,” Wright said. “Although it is summer, the weather is a lot cooler now and the monsoon is here, so traffic will be minimal in the area.”

About 1,300-1,500 tigers are left in India’s forests — less than half their population of 3,600 seven years ago — a recent survey by the National Tiger Conservation Authority has revealed.