JAIPUR: Twelve years back, it was a matter of pride when yet another national park was added to the conservation kitty of Rajasthan.

JAIPUR: There has been a slow but steady deforestation in the state converting areas categorised as moderately dense forest (MDF) into open forest (OF).

The Ranthambore reserve is embarking on phase IV of tiger monitoring as part of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) protocol for all tiger reserves for a national figure on big cats.

Flush with a baby boom since the past couple of years but equally at the receiving end for deaths and straying of tigers, the Ranthambore tiger reserve has left one and all guessing on the exact tiger count.

JAIPUR: Death is the word doing the rounds in Ranthambore as far as tigress T-17's sudden, mysterious disappearance is concerned. It is nearly a month since the tigress, also called Sundari, went missing from the reserve leaving its three one-year-old cubs literally in the lurch.

However, it is yet to be conclusively proved whether she had died as her body could not be traced even by the 110 strong force of foresters deployed to trace her. The fact that numerous camera traps in the reserve have not been able to locate her also makes chances of her being alive slim.

JAIPUR/GWALIOR: The search for a home led a young male tiger from Ranthambore to travel through villages and agricultural fields, cross the Chambal river and 'settle' 220km away in a patch of forest in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh.

This is the farthest any big cat from the national park is recorded to have travelled. The journey has been documented by Ranthambhore's deputy conservator of forest YK Sahu, field biologist Dharmendra Khandal (of tiger watch), and Ayan Sadhu, a junior research fellow at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

Jaipur: A big cat from Ranthambore took a bigger stride this time! It almost leapt into history as it trekked 220 km (as the crow flies) between the state's reserve and Datia in Madhya Pradesh.

Though long dispersal of tigers from Ranthambore were reported earlier, but this is the longest distance in a direction travelled by any dispersed tigers from Ranthambore.

Jaipur: The ambitious but controversial tiger relocation programme at Sariska Tiger Reserve is set to enter the next phase with the introduction of two female and a male tiger in the park before the end of winter.

This will take the tiger count to 10 at Sariska. The forest department is gung ho about the plan, more so after the sighting of the first cubs recently.
Everybody, though, doesn’t share forest department’s enthusiasm regarding the project. The debate on if Sariska is safe for tigers is on with conservationists raising concern over poaching still being a big threat.

Jaipur: With the Sariska tiger translocation project bearing fruit in the form of two cubs, the stage is set for Sariska to get three more tigers. In fact, the second phase of the translocation will see the forest department trying to introduce fresh blood into the 866 sq km forest.

“Plans have been finalized for the shifting of three big cats to Sariska. One of the tigress will be from Ranthambore and two more (one male and one female) will be relocated from outside the state. It could either be from Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra and we are talking to both the states,” says V S Singh, additional chief secretary, environment and forest, government of Rajasthan.

Jaipur: A day after the Supreme Court invited suggestions and objections for framing guidelines for conservation of tigers, Rajasthan on Thursday came up with its own guidelines, the first state to do so.

The guidelines, to be submitted to the court as an affidavit by Friday, seeks to promote tourism but disperses it over a wider area than just confine to the national park only. It also seeks to promote eco-tourism in lesser known areas, non-forest areas and even on private lands adjoining tiger reserves by developing them into alternative wildlife land use options. Currently tourism in the state has been confined to areas of government ownership and is managed solely by the forest department.

Jaipur: A month after the Supreme Court banned tourism in core areas of tiger reserves on the basis of Union environment ministry's guidelines, the ministry did an about turn on Tuesday, telling the court that it needed to rethink the guidelines.

The SC order banning tourism in core areas had led to loud protests from states and thriving commercial ventures in and around tiger reserves. In an affidavit, the Centre cited loss of livelihood and a threat to wildlife and forests in the event of a ban on tourism.