Mr.Sharma in a special mention said the depletion of wildlife in the State had a direct link to the illegal trade in animal body parts, especially of the tiger. "The State's wildlife in general and tiger in particular is now threatened with extinction,'' he said. "It is for the Government to take note of the situation and act fast. The issue involves the future of Rajasthan,'' he said.

The Project Tiger was conceived by the pioneer in tiger conservation from Rajasthan, the late Kailash Sankhla. Ranthambhore and Sariska were among the initial nine Project Tiger sanctuaries started at the initiative of the late Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, Mr.Sharma pointed out. "Without Ranthambhore and Sariska how do you expect the tourists to come to Rajasthan '' he asked.

The Assembly was told by the member that recent studies by experts indicated the absence of 10 tigers, whose presence in the Park was recorded in the past using the camera technique to photograph them. Similarly, the Sariska sanctuary perhaps had no tiger left as they had not been sighted recently. Even the Rajasthan Governor who visited the sanctuary recently could not see one even after the Park officials trying their best to locate a tiger in the wild, Mr.Sharma pointed out.