News

In my opinion a terrible injustice was carried out at Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve three years ago today when an adult male tiger known as Ustad (T24) was tranquilized and then carted off in a truck on a long drive in the heat of the day to Udaipur zoo where he remains today. The reason for Ustad’s removal from his natal home was that he was accused of killing a forest guard not far from the entrance to the park.  Much has since been said and written about what happened but ...

Nowhere to roam and set up a homerange of their own for young tigers dispersing from the natal home. Of the 5 tigers that died in the Indian State of Uttarakhand this year, 3 were sub-adults in the age group of 2-3 years. This news has prompted wildlife activists to call for a strategy to protect these vulnerable young tigers.  

Overpopulation of tigers at Ranthambhore has led to territorial disputes between tigers that are now searching for space in the adjoining Kailadevi wildlife reserve which has an area of approximately 676 sq.km. 2 tiger cubs were recently born  to tigress T.92 and sired by a well known male tiger  known as 'Sultan' who formerly migrated from the Sultanpu ...

The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) has warned that the proposed Kandi Road through Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand to cut the distance between Garhwal and Kumaon regions will sound the death knell of tigers and become an international embarrassment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  In a letter written to Uttarakhand chief secretary and secretary ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the forum has sought immediate susp ...

While the tiger census is proceeding in Nepal sad news has arrived in that 4 Bengal tigers have been found dead in the south-central area of the country.  The cause of the deaths have not as yet been released but a number of reasons have been mooted as follows. Death caused by in-fighting between tigers over prey or territory. 2 of the tigers were found in community forests outside the park and another was found in the buffe ...

A most interesting article on the concern to big cats of a dangerous virus that can kill domestic dogs and also tigers and leopards.  Canine distemper virus (CDV) has been found in tigers, leopards and lions and in most cases the animal will sadly not survive the disease. More on this excellent article written by Mr. John Goodrich Ph.D senior director of the Panthera Tiger programme can be seen by following the link below.   https://bit.ly/2HFV ...

Camera traps were laid in sections of wildlife sanctuaries in the year 2016 and 2017 and the presence of tigers was confirmed. This is an encouraging step forward as during the tiger census in 2013 not a single tiger was reported seen. The State forest department has decided to identify core areas within the four wildlife sanctuaries that could be declared as 'tiger reserves' and subject to approval by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).  More on this encouraging

> The first roar of a tiger was heard at the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) in Kota district of Rajasthan on Tuesday, with the translocation of a big cat from Ranthambhore.    A three-and-a-half-year-old tiger, RT-91, of Ranthambhore reserve (RTR) was tranquilised by a wildlife department team at Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary i ...

The Chief Wildlife Warden of Madhya Pradesh has issued a warning to forest staff of disciplinary action if they are found lacking of ensuring the safely of tigers in the Shahdol forest circle of the State. Both Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and Sanjay National Parks are within the forest circle.  The Shahdol forest area acts as an important corridor for the movement of tigers mainly due to the presence of the two important tiger reserves. More on this report can be found by following the link ...

Sadly my March two week visit to India where I was to spend time at Ranthambhore and Corbett National parks was very quickly curtailed due to an injury to my leg which caused me to book an earlier flight home. However I am pleased to say that I am now feeling very much better and hope that I might be able to return to the 'Land of the Tiger' later this year. During the first two days that I spent at Ranthambhore I enjoyed some lovely sightings of a young male tiger and also a Sloth bea ...

Rajasthan will soon have tigers living at the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. Work is progressing on the infrastructure for the first tiger to arrive at the reserve by the end of this month. An initial soft release site of approximately 28 hectarers has been constructed for the tigers to help the big cats acclimatise before they are finally released into the wild. The release site is in the Darrah region of the reserve which is a contiguous fores ...

In addition to the proposed road widening takes place on Amravati Road which will pose a threat to tigers and other wild animals, there are illegal brick kilns on revenue land surrounding forest areas of 

The Indian State of Kerala has commenced its count of wild tigers within the state's boundaries which is taking place between the 2-9 February. The census takes place throughout India every 4 years and since 2006 when the State recorded 46 tigers the numbers have steadily increased and in 2014 approximately 134 big cats were recorded. More on methodology of the census can be found by following the link below. http://bit.ly/2FIhHNF ...

Three tigers have been discovered killed near a protected forest area in Laos. The discovery has drawn attention to the presence in the country of 3 privately owned tiger farms where tigers are kept for sale in spite of a wildlife trafficking ban. At present it is not known if the tigers came from the tiger farms or from the forest. According to a WWF report the tiger farms in Laos are holding a total of 500 tigers.  Although Laos announce ...