Sariska wants more tourists, and has pinned its hopes and plans on Ranthambhore tigers. But will the cats play along?
A cracked road, winding through lush forest, bracketed by zealous home guards. This is the introduction to Sariska tiger reserve, one of the two spots in the Aravallis where tigers still roar.
Or are expected to. Last week, state highway Sariska-Tehla, the same road that bisects the tiger reserve, was pounded with traffic: Union environment and forests minister, Rajasthan’s forests minister, an army of vets, biologists, data loggers and students from the Wildlife Institute of India, forest guards, home guards, TV cameras and curious locals. As cars with VIP lights screeched at the potholes, a canter truck rolled in, with a 250-kg container secured to it with ropes. From the the 5-feet-11-inch-long container’s 25-millimetre-large holes, peeped out a tiger.
The truck, labelled ‘Udan Dasta’ (flying squad), was halted and the tyre changed, delaying the transfer of the 170-kg male tiger from Ranthambhore to Sariska. But the broken road lets in on Sariska’s new story.
‘Re-building the Future’ read boards at state-run hotels around the reserve. The ‘future’ comprises satellite-collared young tigers from Ranthambhore, being brought in to populate Sariska. The ‘future’ is also the future of tourism here: for Sariska is unique. The verdant undulating forests here are some of the oldest preserved versions of the Aravallis, which is said to have once held dinosaurs. At the heart of Sariska is Pandupole, a jungle temple whose crags the Pandavas marked forever. According to legend, Bhim had split the rocks here, in his legendary fight with Hanuman. Tourists flock to the reserve on Tuesdays and Fridays, for their fix of ‘jungle-safari’ and holy visit. Yet tourism dropped to an all-time low after 2004, after the tigers here were poached to extinction. Now, the state is desperate to build a new brand of tourism, on the basis of the new tigers.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-reluctant-cat/653894/2
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