Ustad not welcome back at his home in Ranthambore

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is planning “slow” release of ailing tiger Ustad — accused of killing four people last year — in the wild again but not to Ranthambore, his original home.

The tiger, also known as T-24, might be relocated to the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary or proposed Aamali Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan from Sajjangarh Biological Park in Udaipur, NTCA sources told HT.

Ustad is unable to go home due to opposition from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve management. The authorities fear it could lead to a fresh round of protests by locals, who forced his captivity in 2015.

Ustad will remain in captivity at Sajjangarh Biological Park in Udaipur and there is no question of releasing the animal into the wild, said Yogesh Kumar Sahu, field director of Ranthambore Tiger Project in Sawai Madhopur.

“T-24 was shifted as he was a danger to human life and killed four people. The decision to make him captive was taken under the Wildlife Protection Act,” he said. HS Negi, inspector general of NTCA said, “We are keeping Ustad under observation for a month at the park and thereafter, will choose soft release as an option for relocation. We are yet to decide where.”

During soft release, the tiger will be kept in big enclosures, exceeding over 10 hectare, for a few months before his final reintroduction into the wild, where he will be under observation for two more years.

The NTCA is looking at soft release as Ustad is suffering from idiopathic megacolon — a disease resulting in inability to defecate — that affects wild animals kept in captivity. Veterinarians from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in UP had put him on a special diet as he is unable to defecate properly since December 2015.

Sahu said the tiger’s health will be reviewed after a month. “He was suffering from blocked intestine and was operated upon in December 2015. Ustad suffered from the ailment in Ranthambore also. The same problem occurred in Udaipur after which a surgery was held,” he said.

Ustad was labelled a man-eater after he killed four people in Ranthambore. He was shifted to Sajjangarh in May 2015. In July, NTCA accepted that the time gap between the attacks was ‘considerable’ and it could have been a consequence of close proximity. Still, Ranthambore management shifted the animal, owing to pressure from locals as well as staff.