Missing Tigers in Ranthambore National Park

• 07 Nov 2024

Why in News?

According to Rajasthan's Chief Wildlife Warden, tigers in Ranthambore National Park (RNP) have gone missing since 2023.

Key Points

• Ranthambore National Park is currently home to 75 tigers, including cubs, within a 900-square-kilometer area, resulting in territorial conflicts.
  • According to a Wildlife Institute of India study (2006-2014), the park can sustainably support approximately 40 adult tigers.
• This recent incident marks the first instance of such a high number of tigers being officially reported as missing in a single year.
  • Efforts to reduce pressure on the park by relocating villages from buffer zones have been sluggish, with the most recent relocation occurring in 2016.
• Ranthambore National Park:
  • Location:
    • It lies in the eastern part of Rajasthan state in Karauli and Sawai Madhopur districts, at the junction of the Aravali and Vindhya hill ranges.
    • It was declared a Tiger reserve in 1973.
  • Parks and Sanctuaries Included:
    • It comprises of the Sawai Mansingh and Keladevi Sanctuaries.
  • Vegetation:
    • The forest type is mainly tropical dry deciduous with ‘dhak’ (Butea monsoperma), a species of tree capable of withstanding long periods of drought, being the commonest.
  • Wildlife:
    • The park is rich in wildlife with tigers at the apex of the food chain in mammals.
    • Other animals found here are leopards, striped hyenas, common or hanuman langurs, rhesus macaques, jackals, jungle cats, caracals, blackbuck, Blacknaped hare and chinkara, etc.