The
stage seems to be set for a fair trial for Ranthambhore’s tiger T-24.
The state government has deferred the decision to shift T-24, popularly
known as Ustaad, to a zoo or a park, after strong protests by
conservationists and experts.
Ustaad was allegedly the tiger that killed forest guard Rampal Saini on Friday.
Rajasthan
Minister of State for Forests Raj Kumar Rinwa told wildlife activist
representatives on Wednesday night that a thorough inquiry would be set
up to probe the causes that led to Friday’s incident, before taking a
final decision on shifting the wild cat, tiger expert Dhirendra Godha
told Mail Today.
T-24, also known as Ustaad, killed a
forest guard. The state government has deferred the decision to shift
Ustaad to a zoo or a park after strong protests by conservationists
Sunayan
Sharma, who is the president of the Sariska Tiger Foundation and led a
delegation of tiger activists to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje two days ago, was also present during the meeting with
the minister.
Mail Today reported the demand for a fair trial on Wednesday.
The
government has decided to constitute a committee of experts to look
into various aspects that led to Ustaad’s aggressive behaviour, Rinwa
told Mail Today on Thursday.
The committee would be formed after consulting Raje, who is expected to return from New Delhi on Friday, he added.
“The
reserve is the big cat’s home and it is the tiger’s birthright to live
there. People must understand that it is not advisable to disturb
animals in their home by going close to them,” Rinwa said.
Even as the tiger had killed three persons earlier, experts had urged the government that T-24 should not be termed a maneater.
They termed Saini’s death as an unfortunate incident.
A
dwindling prey base in the reserve — especially Sawai Man Singh
Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary — on either side of the Ranthambore
National Park had impacted the tiger territories.
Tigers were not venturing outside the Ranthambore National Park, making the area densely populated.
Experts
also stressed that mining activities in the vicinity apart from the
presence of villages had fuelled the man-animal conflict in the region.
Two hurt in second tiger attack
In
the second incident of man-animal conflict within a week in
Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR) in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, a tiger -
suspected to be a female, coded T-30 - attacked and injured two
villagers in the Khandar area of the reserve on Thursday morning at
around 6am.
The two injured - Satish Meena, 35, and Kuldeep Swami, 25, - were immediately taken to the Sawai Madhopur’s general hospital.
Meena
was referred to Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in view of his
critical condition due to a head injury and excessive bleeding.
Swami
said that both were walking in the forest when all of a sudden two
tigers appeared before them and one of the big cats attacked them.
Ground
staff of the reserve maintained that the attacker could be the tigress,
coded T-30, who was seen roaming in the area with her two cubs.
Minister
of State for Forests Raj Kumar Rinwa told Mail Today that as per
briefing from the officials, the big cat was hiding behind the bushes.
As soon as the villagers came to know about the tiger’s presence they started assembling to catch a glimpse of the animal.
Despite a warning, the crowd swelled and the tiger emerged from behind the bushes to attack the two victims, he added.
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