JAIPUR: It is now official that the male tiger T-38 of Ranthambore has now found a new home at Kuno-Palpur sanctuary in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. The tiger was recently caught by a trap camera.
The big cat strayed out of the park some six months back and had been moving near the ravines of Chambal. Thereafter, the three-year -old male tiger strayed into Sheopur district of the neighbouring state after having spent a fortnight in the Shev Ki Chambal area along the Chambal river.
In October, pugmarks of the tiger was spotted near the Kuno-Palpur sanctuary which will play host to the proposed Cheetah Project in the country. Since then, forest officials of the sanctuary have been keeping a close watch on the big cat. Though the tiger may have gained entry into the sanctuary quite some time back but it was pictured recently.
"The tiger's pugmarks were noticed last month and recently it was captured on a camera," said Ashok Mishra, DFO, Kuno-Palpur.
Though a welcomed guest there, but it may become a point of no return for the tiger to Ranthambore. For not only is the sanctuary a better habitat than the overcrowded Ranthambore but with the number of males on the rise in Ranthambore it would have been a constant strive for the big cats here.
However, with no tigress present in the area, T-38 could move forward to the Madho National Park that has a few big cats, officials felt. The tiger arrived in Kuno Palpur travelling about 100 km from Ranthambore. The sanctuary is spread over an area of around 350 sq km.
Officials here termed it as a natural dispersal process catalysed by over-crowding at the Ranthambore reserve. Currently, about four tigers have dispersed from the reserve and while there is one each at Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur and Kota, two big cats have crossed the Chambal river and made into Madhya Pradesh.
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