Tigress that killed 2 people tranquillised, put in enclosure within R'bore reserve

Jaipur: ‘Kankati', the sub-adult tigress who killed a 7-year-old boy and a forest ranger in under one month in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve was tranquillised Wednesday and moved into an enclosure in park's Bheed region. The forest department captured her after she ventured into the farmlands of Kultalpura Maliyan village, a human settlement on the periphery of Ranthambore National Park.

The operation to tranquillise Kankati began around 8am when she was spotted near Hotel Machan in the village, with about 1,500 inhabitants. "Forest officials deemed the situation potentially dangerous, leading to a quick decision to tranquillise the tigress around 9:30am," a source said.

Kankati has been linked to the death of forest ranger, Devendra Choudhary, killed on May 11 while on duty near the Jogi Mahal area within the reserve, and a seven-year-old boy, Kartik Suman, who was mauled to death by the tigress at the Ranthambore Fort on April 16. In response to these incidents, the forest department formed a five-member committee This committee comprising representatives from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the chief wildlife warden, a local NGO, a panchayat representative and the field director, to investigate the circumstances leading to the attacks.

"The committee will deliberate on whether Kankati should remain in her current enclosure or be relocated to a biological park," a source added.

Concerns have been raised about keeping the young tigress inside the enclosure for an extended period, as it lies within a critical natural corridor connecting the Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary and the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

Previous experiences, as was the case with T-104 in Sept 2019, an aggressive male tiger deemed ‘dangerous to human life', have shown that conflicts can arise when tigers are housed in close quarters, leading to injuries and heightened aggression. "Wild tigers clashed with the caged T-104, leading to aggression from both sides. T-104 sustained injuries due to the cage's iron bars," a source said.

To avoid a repeat of such an instance, experts have advocated that Kankati be relocated to a biological park in Jaipur or Udaipur, emphasising the impracticality of maintaining a tiger in an enclosure within the core reserve.