A Tigress Trans located from Jim Corbett to Elevate Tiger Population at Rajaji Tiger Reserve

Highlights

  • To fill the gap in the uninhabited area of Rajaji Park, the relocation is a part of Uttarakhand’s Tiger Relocation project.
  • In December 2019, the first tiger was shifted here, followed by a tigress in 2020.
  • The third tigress is introduced at Rajaji and two more will be shifted here soon.

jim corbett park

After a pause of 2.5 years, a tigress has been relocated in the western area of the Rajaji National Park from Jim Corbett National Park. To multiply the tiger population in Western Zone, i.e., the Motichoor Range, the tigress repositioning is the part of Uttrarakhand’s Tiger Relocation Project.

The Chilla Range, which is the Eastern part of Rajaji Park houses 40+ tigers. Whereas in the Motichoor Range there are no tigers, despite having the capacity of hosting more than 80 tigers. These two zones are separated by a railway line and a national highway, which causes a hindrance for the tigers to roam from one zone to another. Therefore the program of tiger translocation was initiated by the forest officials, from Jim Corbett to Rajaji.

In December 2020, first tigress was shifted to Rajaji’s Chilla Range, after getting the green flag from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in 2016. In January 2021, another male tiger was brought to the region. However, there was no conjugation between the pair of tigers for the past three years. Therefore, the forest officials are in pursuit of introducing three more tigers to elevate the chances of mating among them. Hence, the translocation of the third big cat, the tigress from Jim Corbett took place as a part of the initiative.

The tigress is 5 years old. She was tranquilised in Jim Corbett on May 16, 2023, at 1:30 am and transferred in a cage to Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Medical tests are conducted on the tigress by the veterinarians to confirm her sound health.

Dr. Saket Badola, the director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve has mentioned that the tigress is presently kept in a soft-fenced cage of one hectare size. She will be released to the open forest around 3 days after, once the medical checkups and observation are done.

Where only 40 tigers occupy the Eastern Zone of Rajaji, Jim Corbett has 250 tigers. Therefore, adhered by the program two more big cats (one male one female) are yet to be introduced in Rajaji to re-establish the tiger population, which has the capacity to shelter more than 80 tigers.

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