NTCA orders probe into 25 missing tigers from Ranthambore | India News – Times of India

JAIPUR: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has announced the wildlife crime control agency (WCCB) to gather information on the disappearance of 25 tigers Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) in Rajasthan.
The move follows an order issued by Senior Inspector Pavan Kumar Upadhyay on November 4 regarding the missing tigers. Upadhyay’s command cited an internal report dated October 14, which said there was no concrete evidence of the presence of 11 tigers for more than a year and 14 tigers for less than a year.
NTCA member secretary Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj said, “I have been closely monitoring the issue. While the government of Rajasthan has already formed a committee, NTCA has directed WCCB to look into the possibility of poaching, retaliatory killings or any other cause by raising and strengthening existing intelligence.”
On the other hand, the State Forest Department has claimed that they have collected evidence of the presence of at least 10 of the 25 missing tigers in RTR. “Of the fourteen tigers missing for a period of less than a year, evidence has been found of the presence of approximately ten tigers. Evidence of another four tigers is expected as they have been missing for less than six months.” The remaining 15 tigers are still missing and a committee has been formed to locate them,” Upadhyay said on Thursday.
A retired forest official said, “WCCB can investigate the shortcomings and reasons for the disappearance of tigers in Ranthambore. In 2022, the NTCA formed a committee comprising the DIG of NTCA and the Joint Director of WCCB to investigate the missing tigers. The investigation was postponed due to the lockdown. Central agencies to investigate the matter are the need of the hour.”
There have been recent cases of poisoning due to overcrowding in Ranthambore as tigers move closer to human habitations.
“Currently, 1,400 sq km of the 1,700 sq km RTR area has been designated as critical tiger habitat, with approximately 300 sq km as a buffer zone. More areas need to be developed to accommodate the growing tiger population as territory-seeking tigers move into unsafe areas zones, where they face threats from villagers,” an official added.