Nagpur: In a baffling and mysterious development, the tigress ‘NT-3’ that was released into the core zone of Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) last week went missing and is untraceable. The tigress was released in NNTR as a part of Tiger Conservation Translocation (TCT) programme by the Forest Department on April 11.
The striped big cat was fitted with a satellite GPS collar. The collar can provide details about the wild animal for years if it is tied properly. However, it seems, the tigress somehow managed to get rid of the GPS collar that was tied to her neck. The Forest Department found the radio collar abandoned in Compartment No 95 in the core area of NNTR.
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Tuesday 28 Jan. 2025
This unexpected disappearance has raised concerns among wildlife authorities and conservationists, who are now intensifying efforts to locate the missing tigress. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unclear, prompting speculation and investigations into possible reasons behind her sudden vanishing act. The incident underscores the challenges and risks involved in translocation programs aimed at bolstering tiger populations in various reserves, highlighting the need for careful planning and monitoring to ensure the success and safety of such endeavours.
It was the second such incident of a tiger missing and abandoned radio collar in Vidarbha. Earlier, in 2016, seven-year-old Jai, the beloved monarch who had ruled Nagpur’s Umred Karhandla wildlife sanctuary ever since he arrived there in 2013, was also missing after removing his radio collar. Rescuers, wildlife experts and volunteers conducted extensive search operations for months but he was never tracked by the department.
Now, NNTR once again came into limelight after this incident as the NT-3 tigress is missing within hours of her release in the NNTR . “Missing of a radio-collared tigress without its collar is a matter of concern for the forest department. The question is, how did the tigress remove the collar which was fixed on her neck?” said a senior wildlife researcher on condition of anonymity.
“If the collar was fixed loosely over the neck then it raises questions over the department about their expertise of collaring a wild animal. The GPS tracker itself is a state-of-the-art gadget and it is very expensive too,” said the researcher.
As per the information, now the forest officials joined by VHF monitoring team were trying to trace the location of the tigress, though it’s assumed that the tigress might have freed itself of the GPS collar as it was found functioning and there were marks of tiger nails on it. It may be noted that to check man-animal conflict incidents in area where tiger population had increased, under the TCT programme Forest Department is identifying the wild cats, capturing them to release in other reserves having big potential and where their population is less.
On May 20, 2023, two tigresses NT-1 and NT-2 brought from Bramhapuri range were released in NNTR and out of them NT-1 had ventured outside and migrated to the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, whereas NT-2 had settled in the reserve. The department has failed to get the whereabouts of NT-3 tigress.
According to reports, there is more possibility that the tigress was able to take the collar out. Looking at the growing age of the big cat, the department had kept the collar loose and that may have helped the animal in dropping the collar.
Now with a possibility that the big cat may venture anywhere in and out of the reserve, in buffer or core areas, the department’s team had been deployed to search the location of the tigress. The department would also take the help of NGOs and other stakeholders, that will help in monitoring the things more properly and ensure safety of the animal as well as humans.
