‘Territorial fight?’ Tiger found dead with bruise marks in Ranthambore

JAIPUR: The carcass of a three-year-old male tiger was discovered in the Khandar range of Ranthambore National Park at Gau Ghati, about 3km away from the edge of the forest. It was first spotted by a beat guard, who immediately informed the range officer and deputy director of the park.

During the preliminary examination, the tiger was identified as RBT 2312 by its stripe pattern. Born in 2021, the male tiger was the cub of T-63. The carcass appeared to be between 24 and 36-hours old, showing injury marks, indicative of a fight with another tiger. The forest administration, in a statement, said, "The Chief Conservator of Forest and field director constituted an independent team to conduct the post-mortem of the carcass. Samples will be collected and sent to govt-accredited labs for further analysis."

Experts believe that the tiger died in a territorial fight with a dominant male, T-96. According to Abhishek Chaudhary, an independent tiger tracker in Ranthambore, "The same tiger, T-96, had earlier killed another big cat, T-85, known as Packman, in a fight. Tiger RBT 2312 was born in 2021 and had a brother (RBT 2311). However, their mother, T-63, and RBT 2311 have been missing for a long time."

‘Increase in tiger numbers causes territorial fights’RTR covers a core area of 392 sq km with a buffer zone of 1,342 sq km. Despite its total area of over 1,700 sq km, only 700 sq km is suitable for tiger habitation. Authorities have already expressed concerns that as the tiger population has grown, the park's capacity has become stretched. “Currently, there are over 50 adult tigers,” said an official. “As tiger density increases, territorial fights are pushing out the weaker animals.”