JAIPUR: In a major wildlife crisis, 13 tigers have gone missing from Ranthambore National Park. In the last two years, Ranthambore has had a large population of tigers. Over a dozen tigers missing has set alarm bells are ringing in the forest department. Officials admit that one more tiger from the Sariska Tiger Reserve is also missing.
Questions are raised on the claim of effective protection of tigers in the reserve forests of Rajasthan. This has reached the Assembly also, where the opposition has sought answers from the government. But strangely, forest officials have no answers.
“We are looking for the tiger in surrounding areas. It is not possible to say anything right now. We are taking the help of villagers to try and locate the missing tiger,” said Sariska’s field director RN Meena.
Tigers missing from the state’s reserve forests remain a puzzle. Last year, six tigers went missing in Mukandra Tiger Reserve. Carcasses of four were found. In Mukandra, one tiger is still missing. Effectively, there is only one tigress remaining there.
The Central government spends substantially every year for the protection and conservation of the national animal. Despite this, an average of 101 tigers die in every year. In a report by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on tigers in Lok Sabha, it has been revealed that from 2018-2020, 303 tigers died.
According to a recent report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, 121 tigers died in the country in 2021. According to this report, 12 tigers died in Rajasthan from 2018-2020. State Forest department official Aridam Tomar said, “Tigers have died in the country and our state. A campaign is run by the department to curb the poaching of tigers.”