Ranthambore: After 25 'missing' tigers report, 10 spotted on camera
What's the story
Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan has lost a large chunk of its tiger population over the last year.
According to Pavan Kumar Upadhyay, Rajasthan's Chief Wildlife Warden, 25 out of an estimated 75 tigers have gone missing.
This is a record high for disappearances in a single year at the park.
Official response
Investigation launched into tiger disappearances at Ranthambore
In light of the alarming situation, a three-member committee has been formed to probe the disappearances.
The committee will review monitoring records and recommend action if any lapses by park officials are found.
Their main focus is to locate 14 tigers that have not been sighted since between May 17 and September 30 this year.
Park conditions
Overcrowding and territorial disputes exacerbate challenges
The park officials have already traced 10 of the missing tigers through camera traps.
However, challenges remain due to overcrowding in the park, which spreads over 1,400 square kilometers but only about 900 square kilometers are suitable habitat for tigers.
With over 10 tigers per 100 square kilometers, territorial conflicts are driving weaker animals away.
Conflict escalation
Human-wildlife conflicts rise amid tiger disappearances
The overcrowding has resulted in more territorial fights between tigers and more human-wildlife conflicts.
There have been cases where villagers poisoned or attacked tigers due to conflicts over livestock predation.
Efforts to address these issues include relocating villages from the buffer zone, however, the progress has been slow since the last relocation in 2016.
Conservation focus
Monitoring gaps and conservation efforts under scrutiny
The committee probing the missing tigers is likely to submit its report in two months.
Upadhyay stressed on filling monitoring gaps and said, "Recently, I started gathering weekly monitoring reports, which revealed that these tigers were not recorded by the camera traps."
Conservationists still push for safe forest corridors to be created for tiger dispersal to ease pressure on Ranthambore's ecosystem.