Sariska to ‘import’ tigers

NEW DELHI: By next year, Sariska will regain its lost charm. In a landmark attempt, a first of its kind, tigers will be relocated and Rajasthan has taken the pioneering initiative. Tigers from Ranthambhore and Panna national park will be trans-located to the Sariska tiger sanctuary, which had lost its entire tiger population to excessive poaching in the area.

On October 30, a crucial meeting between the Rajasthan government and the Union ministry of environment and forest in the Capital will give the green signal for a final plan of action that has been undertaken by the Committee on Forest and Wildlife Management.

Says Rajesh Gopal of Project Tiger, “The process has already begun. We’ve just approved the relocation of villages and now there are many other issues that need to be looked at. There has been a general consensus that tigers and humans cannot exist together and hence relocation of the villagers was the first significant aspect to look into.”

The Dehradun-based Wildlife institute of India has submitted a report furnishing details of how relocation should take place in different phases. To begin with the suggestion is to relocate one male and two-to-three female tigers in the sub-adult category of four-five year old male tigers and slightly younger female tigers.

V B Mathur, Dean of WII, said: “Tigers will be identified through ground-based surveys. To take them to Sariska they will eventually be tranquilised through darts and put into special crates and finally we will have a soft release next to a water body so that they do not struggle.”

Tigers will be also radio-collared and monitored after being released into the forest which will be fenced initially, so that they learn to acclimatize gradually and not wander away. “Sariska already has a natural population of prey like deer and nilgais and tigers will not have to be fed separately,” adds Mathur.

The WII has also suggested that a team of people involved in the project be sent to South Africa and for a study-tour on trans-locating wildlife, a process the South Africans national parks deal in all the time. Adds Mathur, “We are looking at an active and adaptive management of wildlife in this case, which means that if need be, we will also look at interventions in making the animals adapt to their new environment.” This would mean even looking at artificial means of reproduction in future even if the tigers fail to breed naturally.

Sariska has the capacity of sustaining 15 tigers to begin with and the committee has recommended guidelines based on the International Union for conservation of Nature and Natural resources to relocate them - from picking up the right wild stock to their veterinary care.