3 days ago
Killer R'bore tiger captured,moved to Karauli enclosure
Jaipur: In an overnight operation, the state forest department tranquillised a male sub-adult cub (RBT-2509) of tigress T-84 (Arrowhead) and shifted it to an enclosure at Ranthambore Tiger Reserve II, Karauli, on Wednesday.
The move came two days after a 70-year-old guard at the Jain temple inside Ranthambore Fort was mauled to death, marking the third human kill at the reserve in two months, and prompting NTCA to urgently clear a pending proposal to relocate all three cubs of Arrowhead, believed to be behind a series of attacks on humans.
"The animal is under continuous observation by the veterinary team and forest department officials," the forest department said in a statement.
Official sources said two of Arrowhead's cubs — RBT-2509 and Kankati, both allegedly involved in human fatalities — have now been confined to enclosures. Both sub-adult cubs grew up in the shadow of their ailing mother, living on live baits and never fully developing hunting skills.
The third cub, a female that has not yet shown aggression towards humans, will also be relocated later.
"As per the 13th technical committee's decision, the male cub will be shifted to Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve, one female cub to Ramgarh Vishdhari, and the conflict-prone female cub to Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve.
The forest department has been directed to initiate the action and report compliance to the Authority," NTCA had stated earlier this week.
Despite these measures, experts cautioned that the long-term plan for the tigers remained unclear. "The tiger currently held in the Karauli enclosure cannot be confined there for life. If it is eventually released into the wild, there's a high likelihood it will prey on villagers, perceiving them as easy targets.
On the other hand, shifting Kankati — the conflict-prone female — to Mukundra Hills is a sound decision, as no villages lie within the 82sqkm enclosure," green activist Tapeshwar Singh Bhati said.
Bhati, however, cautioned that Kankati cannot remain confined to the Bhid enclosure indefinitely. "The action plan must be revised, and the two tigers confirmed to be involved in human killings should either be retained in Mukundra or shifted to a biological park," he added.
