25 Tigers Missing from Ranthambore National Park, Raising Concerns Over Park’s Management
25 Tigers Missing from Ranthambore National Park, Raising Concerns Over Park’s Management
An unprecedented spike in missing tigers prompts inquiry into park monitoring practices.
In a troubling development, 25 tigers have gone missing from Rajasthan’s Ranthambore National Park (RNP) over the past year, sparking concerns about park management and monitoring practices. Rajasthan’s Chief Wildlife Warden, Pavan Kumar Upadhyay, confirmed Monday that a significant portion of the park’s tiger population, estimated at 75, has disappeared, with no concrete sightings recorded in recent months.
This year marks the first time such a high number of missing tigers has been reported within a single year. By contrast, from January 2019 to January 2022, only 13 tigers were documented as missing. As a response, a three-member committee has been set up to investigate and determine any lapses or negligence in the park’s monitoring practices. The committee’s findings are expected within two months.
An official report from November 4 indicates ongoing concerns about tiger disappearances at Ranthambore, where reminders sent to the park’s field director have yielded little improvement. According to the latest data from October 2024, 11 tigers have been untraceable for over a year, while 14 others have shown minimal recent activity on tracking devices.
“The weekly monitoring reports revealed that certain tigers were not captured on trap cameras,” Upadhyay stated, acknowledging gaps in the park’s current monitoring system. Wildlife officials are focused on locating the 14 tigers that went missing in just four months, between May and September 2024. This surge in missing tigers has intensified public and governmental scrutiny on the park’s operational efficiency.
Overcrowding in the park has created additional pressures. Originally designed to accommodate around 40 adult tigers across its 900-square-kilometer expanse, the park’s current population far exceeds this limit. The Wildlife Institute of India’s study, conducted from 2006 to 2014, noted that such high density can lead to increased territorial conflicts, which are common among tigers. Consequently, many tigers have perished in disputes over territory, prey, and mates.
Moreover, park managers face challenges with human-wildlife interactions as tigers venture beyond the park’s borders, seeking quieter territories for hunting and breeding. The last successful relocation of villages from the buffer zones occurred in 2016, but slow progress in this area continues to add to the overcrowding issue.
Given the high stakes, officials and wildlife authorities are under pressure to ensure better surveillance and management to prevent further disappearances. The new investigation aims to address both immediate issues with monitoring gaps and the long-standing challenges of overpopulation and limited territory within the park.
With Ranthambore being a major hub for tiger conservation in India, all eyes are on the committee’s forthcoming report and the park’s response to what has become an alarming situation for conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts alike.
