Rajasthan is ready to receive its fourth tiger reserve in Bundi as the state authority has got the signal for it from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), officials mindful of the subject said on Wednesday.
Chief wildlife warden Mohan Lal Meena stated the NTCA’s technical committee has sanctioned the proposal for transforming Ramgarh Vishdhari Temple in Bundi, which is spread across 1,071 square km, into a tiger reserve. He added the state will promptly issue a notification in this link.
Officials stated a 302 square km location in the scheduled tiger reserves will be left as critical habitat for big cats and the rest of the zone will be the buffer zone.
The Rajasthan management last year first declared the proposal to develop the Bundi park as a tiger reserve to provide a second habitat to Ranthambore tigers and to augment tourism.
Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur, Alwar’s Sariska Tiger Reserve, and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota have over 100 big cats.
A second forest officer told NTCA he now hoped to send a committee to survey the Bundi sanctuary. He added the population of big cats at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve is escalating and they need more space. This space crunch would be determined by enhancing the Bundi sanctuary, which was earlier a natural habitat of tigers.
Meena stated tigers from Ranthambore could be trans-located to the new reserves after NTCA’s approval.
Officers also expect to connect Ranthambore to Ramgarh and Mukundra.
“To augment the prey base, the state has already sanctioned shifting of chital (spotted deer) from Ghana Bird Sanctuary (Karauli) to Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, Keoladeo National Park, and Ramgarh Vishdhari,” said Meena.
A third officer said the fourth expected sanctuary has been known as a breeding place for tigers. As per a 1985 census, there were nine tigers there. Less than three cats have escaped from Ranthambore to Ramgarh since 2013. This shows that tigers are migrating there naturally, the third official added.
