Ranthambore to gift tigers to Sariska

The Pionee , Thursday, February 24, 2005
Correspondent : Lokpal Sethi
The wildlife authorities in Rajasthan may shift a couple of tigers to the Sariska wildlife sanctuary from Ranthambore, if no tigers are found in the Sariska forest during the tiger census in May.Though the WWF-India experts, who visited this sanctuary last week, could not sight a single tiger and concluded that there are hardly any tigers in the sanctuary, the forest and wildlife authorities of the State are still hopeful of finding tigers here during the animal census in May.

They say that skates, kills and scratches found by the WWF team are strong evidences that there are some tigers in this forest. The villagers too, often report of confrontations with tigers in the area.Though they did not rule out poaching in the sanctuary, they maintain that continued human interference in the forest was one reason for reduction in the number of tigers and other animals in the forest.

Before the visit by the WWF-India team, the authorities were claiming that the number of tigers in this sanctuary is around 15.What's more, they are of the view that winter was not the right time to count the tigers. During the summer months, when there are only a few water sources in the forest, tiger-tracking and identifying their pug marks become easy, they say, adding that this forest is one of their natural habitats as plenty of food is available for them here.Some experts say that during winter, the tigers move away from their natural territory and would return only in summer. The authorities are toying with the idea of bringing a couple of tigers from the Ranthambore Tiger sanctuary if no tigers were found in Sariska during the census in May.Meanwhile, a central team, which was to visit Sariska on Tuesday, has postponed its programme. The team would now arrive in the sanctuary on February27. The centre had decided to sent a team, following the report of WWF-India team which expressed concern on the decline in the tiger population in this sanctuary.

 
SOURCE : The Pioneer, Thursday, February 24, 2005
 


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