Straying tiger T-98 reaches Mukundra Two tiger corridors between reserves
150 KM TRAVERSED The 3-year-old tiger had wandered out of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve mid-jan into Sultanpur region of Kota
KOTA: The straying T-98 tiger of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR) of Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan has wandered into the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) of Kota through the natural tiger corridor existing between the two reserves, MHTR officials said.
MHTR staff on Sunday night at around 9.17pm on the camera trap in Dara range caught an image of the tiger in the outer enclosure of the reserve.
Deputy conservator of forest, MHTR, T Mohanraj said RTR officials confirmed the image was that of tiger T-98 that had strayed out from RTR into the Sultanpur r e g i on of Kota di s t r i c t in January.
“Pugmarks of the tiger were also found in the Dara range of Mukundra on Saturday after which the wildlife staff and volunteers of the wildlife organization ‘Tiger Watch’ put camera traps in MHTR to catch the image of the tiger,” he said.
“T-98 has come on its own to the MHTR which is heartening since it proves that the natural corridor existing between RTR and MHTR is still alive,” Mohanraj said.
Tiger T-98 has travelled around 150km from RTR and around 80 from Sultanpur forest block in Kota district to reach MHTR, said Mohanraj.
Former field director of RTR and chief conservator of forest, Jaipur, YK Sahu said that T-98 strayed out from RTR and is likely to have reached Indergarh and Lakheri regions in Bundi district and later Sultanpur territorial forests of Kota district for the last one month.
There is another tiger corridor between RTR and MHTR via the Ramgarh Vishdhary Sanctuary of Bundi.
Wildlife department teams of RTR, MHTR and wildlife volunteers were tracking T-98 in the Sultanpur region for the last one month.
“T-98 is the offspring of T-60 of RTR and is a sub-adult and is around 3 years old,” Sahu said.
Sahu said T-98 is the same tiger which had reportedly mauled a 65-year-old woman to death in RTR on December 27, 2018.
Dharmendra Khandal from Tiger Watch said the ecosystem of RTR was very good since several tiger corridors exists it, to which tigers of RTR stray out. “The territorial forest of the Sultanpur region of Kota district is the step- ping stone between RTR and MHTR, which tigers of RTR have been using in the past as well for reaching to the Tiger corridor. So this territorial forest of Sultanpur should be conserved,” he said.
After arrival of T-98, now there are 3 Tigers at the MHTR including a tiger named MT-1 and a tigress, MT-2.
MHTR was declared as the third tiger reserve of Rajasthan after RTR and Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district. MTHR was formed after joining wildlife sanctuaries of Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar and Chittorgarh district. MHTR is spread in around 759 square kilometres.
Wildlife activists of Kota are pleased with the arrival of T-98 into MHTR on its own. Tapeshwar Singh Bhati of Mukundra Wildlife and Environment Society said the news of arrival of T-98 has been a pleasant surprise. KOTA: The arrival of tiger T-98 of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR) after it wandered into the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) has once again turned ‘alive’ the natural tiger corridors between the two tiger reserves and showed its existence.
This is not the first time a tiger has reached MHTR on its own or used tiger corridors to move out of the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve.
Tapeshwar Singh Bhati, founder president, Mukundra Wildlife and Environment Society, Kota, said that there are two known tiger corridors between MHTR and RTR through which tigers have been coming to Hadauti region.
“While one tiger corridor stretches from RTR to Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary of Bundi, the nother tiger corridor leads from Indergarh, Lakheri areas of Bundi to Sultanpur forests of Kota via Kali Sindh river,” he said.
A tiger named Broken Tail had reached the then Dara Sanctuary, which now falls in MHTR, in 2003 but was killed on the DelhiMumbai railway track passing through the Dara sanctuary in a few months after its arrival at the Dara Sanctuary. It is not yet clear which one of the tiger corridors Broken Tail took to reach Dara sanctuary.
While a straying tigress of RTR named T-35 had also strayed out of RTR into the territorial forests of Sultanpur region of the in the January 2010, it died in mysterious circumstances in the Sultanpur forests in 2016.
Chief conservator of forest, Jaipur, and former field director of RTR, YK Sahu told that T-91, which was relocated to MHTR last year had also strayed into the Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary and had even moved towards Seljar wildlife range of MHTR before being caught for relocation in April last year, and now T-98 has arrived to MHTR on its own, showing that the tiger corridors between MHTR and RTR do exist.
Tapeshwar Singh Bhati said that there is a tiger corridor between RTR and MHTR via Sultanpur forests of Kota, but was it dormant as 15 years after Broken Tail traversed the corridor, there have been no reports of any other activity in the corridor.
He said that the hurdles in the tiger corridor should be removed so as to facilitate smooth movement of more t i gers t o t he Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve through this natural t i ger corridor.
ONE TIGER CORRIDOR STRETCHES FROM RTR TO RAMGARH VISHDHARI SANCTUARY, THE OTHER FROM INDERGARH, LAKHERI AREAS TO SULTANPUR FORESTS