These days, the Uttarakhand Forest Department is busy reintroducing tigers in the western part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. The plan is to reintroduce five young cats in total, out of which, two have already reached the tiger reserve in the past one year. The others are likely to follow soon. The translocation was carried out by the Uttarakhand Forest Department in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Institute of India, and WWF India.
This ongoing translocation project is the part of a recovery plan to re-establish a breeding population of tigers in the western part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
LOW POPULATION
Before the translocation project, tigers occupied 17 percent of the habitat in the western part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, with photographic evidence suggesting the presence of just two females and no signs of breeding since 2006. Translocation of tigers was, therefore, considered a necessary step towards recovery of the species. However, for long-term success, other actions will also be required, such as restoring connectivity with eastern Rajaji via functional corridors, increasing protection, and having conflict management mechanisms in place.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, an official in the Uttarakhand Forest department said, “If we look at the eastern part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, around 30-37 tigers are located, whereas, in the western part, only two female tigers were found. Both being females, no chances of reproduction were expected. Moreover, due to the traffic corridor between the western and eastern parts of the tiger reserve, it is difficult for the cats to migrate to other locations. Hence, this step towards increasing the population of tiger through reintroduction was taken in the western part of the tiger reserve.”
RELOCATING FROM CORBETT
An expert committee comprising forest department officials and scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have identified two males and three females in Corbett, which has 252 tigers, for translocation.
Director of Rajaji National Park, Mr. Akhilesh Tiwari, told Indian Masterminds, “After the approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the reintroduction of tigers from Corbett Tiger Reserve to the western part of Rajaji TR started last year. In this, a male and a female tiger were introduced to the western part that covers 570 sq km. Both the young cats are being monitored rigorously by the department using camera traps and radio collars.”
Both tigers were brought one by one in a duration of one year. They were tranquilized and radio-collared after a check-up before beginning the five-hour journey in a modified cage with plywood on all sides to prevent injury.
The first-ever reintroduction was conducted on 26 December 2020, when a tigress which was, captured in Corbett Tiger Reserve, was released in Motichur Range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
Mr. Tiwari further said, “Good news is that recently between December and January, both the male and female tigers were found together in camera traps. This is also the right mating season for them and hopefully the objective for which this reintroduction took place will be completed in the coming years.”
