One year after release, Tigress Yamuna yet to find a mate

Bhubaneswar: Uncertainty prevails over the mating of tigress Yamuna that has confined itself to Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary for over a year now because the sanctuary has no male tiger. Also, the tigress does not show any sign of returning to Similipal Tiger Reserve, where it was released in Oct 2024 after it was brought from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve.The last time Yamuna was in Similipal’s core was when it was lodged in a soft enclosure for 10 days before it was released into the wild. Although Kuldhia is part of the larger Similipal biosphere and has contiguity with it, Yamuna did not visit Similipal.“Yamuna’s movement has been traced to different parts of Kuldhia wildlife sanctuary as per the radio collar data. The camera traps also did not capture any image of it spending time with any male tiger. It is hunting prey and looks agile,” said Similipal field director Prakash Gogineni.He said there are 2 possibilities regarding Yamuna’s chance of mating. “If the tigress walks into Similipal territory, it has a chance to encounter a male tiger. Or, if a male tiger goes to Kuldhia and meets Yamuna,” Gogineni added.Similipal biosphere reserve comprises Similipal tiger reserve’s 2 divisions — Kuldhia wildlife sanctuary and Hadgarh wildlife sanctuary. Days after Yamuna’s release, it crossed the geographical boundary of Similipal and entered Kuldhia. “Initially, it looked like it dispersed but for more than 1 year it is settled there indicating stability,” a wildlife officer said.Tigress Zeenat, which was released after Yamuna in Similipal, is settled in the core, though it dispersed to Jharkhand and West Bengal in Dec 2024 and was brought back to Similipal on January 1 last year. “In Zeenat’s case too, after last year’s mating indicators in May that we saw through camera trap pictures, there was no further indication,” wildlife officials said.With both tigresses not finding a mate, there is still uncertainty over bringing about genetic diversity in the big cat population in Similipal. The tiger population in Similipal grew at 18% annually since 2014, but 50% of the population is pseudo-melanistic, wildlife officials said. National Centre for Biological Sciences scientist Uma Ramakrishnan, during her research in 2021, suggested that genetic diversity is required to check pseudo-melanism, a trait of inbreeding, and to sustain big cats in Similipal.