Reintroduction of tigers in sariska tiger reserve, Rajasthan

Abstract

This chapter provides firsthand information on the reintroduction of tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve. The first author was actively involved in the planning and operation of the revival of tigers at Sariska conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, India, in collaboration with the Department of Forests and Environment, Government of Rajasthan. After the extermination of tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) in 2004, WII’s report entitled “Status of tiger in STR” strongly suggested reintroduction of tigers in Sariska with a simulation of the population growth pattern of the proposed reintroduced stock to establish self-sustaining population with high reproductive fitness in the wild environment and ample genetic diversity. A suggestion to translocate an initial population of a total of five tigers (two males and three females) from Ranthambhore National Park (RNP) was made, with a supplementation of three tigers (one male and three females) in every three years for a period of six years. Accordingly, in December 2005, a “Species Recovery Plan for Tigers” in STR was prepared. An adult tiger and tigress were chemically immobilized, fitted with radio collars (VHF-satellite) and translocated from RNP to STR on 28th June and 4th of July 2008 respectively, and were kept in 1-ha enclosure. The tiger was released into the wild after eight days of observation on 6th July 2008, while the tigress was released on 8th July 2008 after three days of observation. On 26th February 2009, a female tigress was released. All these big cats are being monitored continuously for home ranges, feeding behavior, and reproduction through ground tracking using “homing in technique'i and also through satellite tracking