For second time this year, male tiger from Sariska travels 125km to Rewari forest | India News – Times of India

GURGAON: A three-year-old male tiger is believed to have travelled 125km from the Sariska reserve in Rajasthan to Jhabua forest in Rewari for the second time in eight months.
Forest department officials initiated a search for the animal (ST-2302) after its pugmarks were spotted in the Aravali forest on Saturday evening. The tiger is likely to have wandered out of Sariska last week and travelled by the Sahibi river, where other animals come to drink water and offer an ideal prey base.
On its way to Rewari, ST-2302 was spotted in Khairthal-Tijara district on the Rajasthan border on Thursday, when it attacked a local farmer.”A tiger’s pugmarks were first seen on Saturday evening. More marks were discovered after the 800-acre Jhabua forest was scanned on Sunday morning. Since we have tigers only in Sariska in the region, the pugmarks were matched with the records there and they were found to be of ST-2302,” said Deepak Patil, the divisional forest officer of Rewari. Five to seven teams of foresters have been stationed in the Jhabua forest to ensure the animal does not stray into the nearby villages and create panic there.
However, since some areas of the forest are difficult to penetrate, tranquilising and trapping the elusive big cat is easier said than done, officials said. “If it’s ST-2302, it’s the same tiger that wandered into Rewari this Jan. The forest boasts of a robust prey base, and an adult tiger can survive here for a few days. We are being vigilant. But we hope the tiger goes back to its original habitat on its own without straying into villages in the vicinity,” Patil said.

Another forest official said the Jhabua jungle had ample areas that provided a suitable camouflage to the animal. But millet fields in the area were a possible hiding spot too.
“Tigers hide themselves in millet fields as these provide excellent camouflage. The height of the crops also enables them to remain hidden,” the official said.
In January, ST-2302 had returned to Sariska after staying in the Rewari forest for four days. According to Patil, the tiger had taken the same route then too. “After wandering out of Sariska, it had strayed into Bhiwadi on the Haryana-Rajasthan border. It was spotted in Sukh Kheda village, where it attacked a farmer on Jan 18,” he said.
“Two days later, the big cat reached the Aravali terrain of Rewari via Kharkhara and Nandrampur Bass. It hid in the mustard fields for four days before going back on its own. The entire journey will be around 125km,” the divisional forest officer said.
AP Pandey, additional principal chief conservator of forests in south Haryana, said they were coordinating with their counterparts in Rajasthan to trace the tiger and send it back.
But animal behavioural experts believe the tiger will trace the same path back on its own. Wildlife biologist Sumit Dookia told TOI that it seemed ST-2302 was seeking a separate habitat of its own.
“Look, Sariska is home to more than 40 tigers. In such situations, we often find that stronger males push away those that are relatively weak. So, this tiger may have been looking for a habitat. This also suggests that the wildlife corridor between Sariska and Haryana Aravalis is quite active and should be protected well,” he said.
But the adult male tiger may return soon as the region does not have a female tiger, according to Dookia.
“Also, 800 acres is too small an area for an adult tiger. Ideally, such animals require anything between 5-250sqkm, depending on the prey base,” he added.