Jaipur: Serendipity can at times be embarrassing. At least it was with the forest officials when they got the first trap camera picture of the footloose tiger Mohan after months of efforts and it turned out to be a tigress's, or Mohini's, if the big cat allows us to christen her so!
After meticulously following the Ranthambhor tiger T47, nicknamed Mohan, for months, which kept wandering from as far as Dholpur, Baseri, Bari in Rajasthan to Bhind-Morena in Madhya Pradesh, and finally settling in Ghanteshwar valley in Keoladeo Sanctuary; the forest officials were in for a rude shock when the first trap camera picture of the big cat turned out to be a tigress's. The embarrassing turn of events not only puts in question the efficacy of officials but also draws a blank on what actually happened to T47, if this one is a tigress.
"We are still examining that this big cat is Mohan or not. It seems a tigress from the picture we got, so we are also examining whether this is the same big cat which has roamed as far as Bhind in MP," said YK Sahoo, field director at Ranthambhore National Park (RNP). Forest officials may not be sure of tiger being Mohan or Mohini, but experts who have seen the picture confirm that the big cat photographed is a tigress. "This big cat does not have any ruff on its face, the characteristic of a male tiger, and also her head is not as big as a male tiger's. So in all probability, this big cat is tigress for sure," said Divya Bhanu Singh Chawda, member, National Board of Wildlife, and cat specialist group of World Conservation Union (IUCN).
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-mohini-smiles-at-forest-officials-goof-up-in-trap-camera-picture-2228912.html
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