25 tigers are missing from Ranthambore National Park, investigation underway

Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, known for its majestic tigers, is facing a worrying situation. A PTI report says that over the past year, 25 out of the park’s 75 tigers have vanished, according to Chief Wildlife Warden Pavan Kumar Upadhyay. This is the highest number of tigers reported missing in a single year. Between January 2019 and January 2022, only 13 tigers were reported missing, making this a significant spike.

To investigate these disappearances, the wildlife department has formed a three-member committee. Their job is to look at monitoring data and find out if there were any oversights by park staff. The investigation is focusing on 14 tigers that have not been seen since May to September of this year.

A government order from November 4 highlights ongoing concerns about missing tigers from the park. It noted that despite reminders sent to the park’s field director, there hasn’t been much improvement. As of mid-October 2024, 11 tigers have been missing for more than a year, and 14 others have shown very little recent activity on monitoring devices.

Pavan Kumar Upadhyay explained, "The committee will submit its report within two months. We have identified some monitoring gaps that we want to address. Recently, I started collecting weekly monitoring reports, which showed that these tigers were not recorded on trap camera. This matter is being taken very seriously."

Part of the solution to reduce stress on the park has been to relocate villages from the buffer zone. However, progress has been slow, and the last successful village relocation happened in 2016.

Ranthambore’s dense tiger population contributes to the issue. The park covers about 900 square kilometres and currently holds 75 tigers, including cubs and younger ones. This number is far above the estimated safe capacity of around 40 adult tigers, according to a Wildlife Institute of India study conducted between 2006 and 2014. The overcrowding leads to intense territorial battles among the tigers, worsening the situation.

The park officials and wildlife authorities are now under pressure to address these challenges and ensure better monitoring and management to prevent further disappearances.

(with PTI inputs)