Brushing aside the forest department’s claim of territorial conflict, experts suspect that the cubs were most likely to have been poisoned to death by unidentified poachers.
Holding the forest department responsible for the deaths of two tiger cubs at Ranthambore National Park (RNP), wildlife experts and enthusiasts claimed that the fatal incidents could have been averted had the staff equipped with advanced technology were conscious of its responsibilities of tiger conservation.
Brushing aside the forest department’s claim of territorial conflict, experts suspect that the cubs were most likely to have been poisoned to death by unidentified poachers.
If the management in RNP was aware of the space crunch and rising population of tigers in the reserve, why didn’t it take substantial measures for the conservation of tigers by developing additional habitats, a senior wildlife expert at Jaipur asked on condition of anonymity.
The Ranthambore critical tiger reserve is spread over 1,200 square kilometres where the tiger population is believed to be existing while 800 square kilometres is its surrounding area in the park, he said.
He added that additional tiger habitats could have been developed in the adjoining areas to avert such type of conflict but the RNP management did not think over as the management and government are more focused on wildlife tourism in the reserve rather than animal conservation in the park.
The management in RNP has nothing to do with tiger conservation but with tourism and this faulty allocation of work is leading to fatal incidents with the animal, the senior expert further said.
He also doubted the forest department’s theory of territorial conflict behind the killing of two cubs and asked if the other deceased tiger cub was waiting to be killed at a distance of 10 to 15 meters while the adult tiger was killing the first one. It also questioned why it did not run away from the spot.
The exact reason for the deaths of the two cubs could be ascertained only after receiving postmortem reports but it is obvious that the two cubs were poisoned to death by unidentified poachers.
This is because the two bodies reportedly bore no mark of wound by conflict.
Vittal Sanadhya, another wildlife expert and enthusiast in Bundi, demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
If the death of the two cubs is the result of conflict with the big cat, why didn’t the staff monitoring with advanced technology at RNP intervene and prevent the conflict, Brijesh Vijayvergiya, another wildlife enthusiast in Kota, asked.
The government as well as the machinery involved in the management of RNP for conservation is playing a big game instead of taking substantial measures to protect tigers, he further added.
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