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5 tigers to be shifted to Rajasthan from MP, Maharashtra to improve gene pool

Aug 29, 2024 06:19 PM IST

Earlier this year, in a letter to the Union environment and forest minister Bhupendra Yadav, Rajasthan forest minister Sanjay Sharma had urged for the translocation of big cats to Rajasthan from other states

Jaipur: Rajasthan is soon expected to receive five tigers from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to improve the tigers gene pool in the state and prevent inbreeding, officials said. As of now, all tigers in five tiger reserves in Rajasthan are from Ranthambore.

 (Representative Photo)
(Representative Photo)

After approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a senior forest official familiar with the development said, “The NTCA has given in principle approval for relocating five tigers to Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. This initiative will not only help populate tiger reserves but also prevent inbreeding and establish a fresh gene pool.”

The official said that Rajasthan currently does not have enough tigers in Ranthambore or Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) that could be relocated to other reserves within the state. Thus, tigers from other states can be moved to reserves such as Ramgarh Vishdhari (Bundi) and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota (MHTR).

MHTR has two adult tigers—a male and a female—and Ramgarh Vishdhari has five, including two cubs.

The official added that tiger habitats in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have landscapes similar to those in Rajasthan, so the relocated tigers are unlikely to face any problems in adjusting to a new habitat. “If the proposal is approved by respective state governments, it will mark the first time in Rajasthan’s history that tigers are being relocated from other states.”

To avoid inbreeding and create a fresh gene pool of tigers in Rajasthan, the forest department has been asking the central government to permit the translocation of around nine tigers from other states to tigers reserves in the state.

A study by the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) revealed that Rajasthan has more inbred tigers than anywhere in India.

Earlier this year, in a letter to the Union environment and forest minister Bhupendra Yadav, Rajasthan forest minister Sanjay Sharma had urged for the translocation of big cats to Rajasthan from other states.

“Apart from ensuring the safety of the tigers, their monitoring, and habitat improvement, maintaining the male-female ratio is also an important task of the management,” Sharma stated in the letter.

He said the NTCA permitted translocation of one male and two females to MHTR in August 2023, and the translocation is pending. Similarly, permission for a male and two female tigers to STR from RTR was given in August 2023, where a tigress is pending to be translocated. “The RTR does not have a suitable tigress to be translocated. Hence, it is urged to permit translocation of big cats from other states,” the official stated.

Rajasthan has five tiger reserves—Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR), Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR), Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR), and Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve (DKTR). The RVTR and DKTR were announced reserves in the last two years.

From 59 tigers in 2014, the current population of tigers in the state has reached around 121, of which over 75% are in RTR. 

A senior official familiar with the development said three tigers, one male and two female, have been asked to be translocated from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Sharma on the development said, “The tigers from other states will not only help in breeding but also avoid inbreeding and help in creating a fresh gene pool.” He added that diseases and infertility are indicative of inbreeding.

In July 2020, a team of researchers from NCBS used the hair shed of tigers, blood, tissue, and muscle samples to create a genetic database and pedigree of big cats in Rajasthan.

The researchers studied the gene pool using the blood, tissue, and muscle of 18 tigers and the hair shed of 34 tigers in Rajasthan. The study done for over six years included over 60 tigers from the states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. 

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