Third tiger death in Ranthambore: No decision yet on panel’s advice to shift three ‘raised’ tigers

Following the first two fatal attacks — one on April 16 by sub-adult tigress Kankati and another on May 11 by Kankati and her unnamed male sibling — a technical committee constituted to examine the issue concluded that the three sub-adult cubs of tigress Arrowhead, on live bait support since July 2023, have become habituated to people and should be shifted from Ranthambhore.

On May 14, Kankati was spotted in a millet field outside the tiger reserve where the forest staff tranquilised her. Once the tigress was placed in an enclosure in Ranthambhore’s Talda, nobody was in a hurry to act on the technical committee’s recommendation for her two siblings.

Early Monday, Radheshyam Mali, a chowkidar of the Jain Mandir, located close to the Ganesh temple inside the Ranthambore fort, went to relieve himself outside the guard post when two other chowkidars heard him scream. Later, a team of forest staff followed the trail of blood and recovered Mali’s “partially eaten” body 30-40 metres from the spot of attack.

Of the six sub-adult tigers that frequent the Jogi Mahal and Ranthambhore fort areas, three born to tigress Riddhi were reportedly spotted some distance away near Padam Talao around the time of the incident.

With tigress Kankati in an enclosure, her two siblings, particularly the male that was involved in the second fatal attack with Kankati, are the prime suspects for the latest attack.

While Ranthambhore field director K R Anoop declined comment, a senior official said that the authorities should not have delayed implementing the technical committee’s advice to shift the three sub-adult cubs outside Ranthambhore.

“It is understandable that the decisions on where all to send the tigers and whether to keep them in enclosures in the new locations can take time. But Kankati’s two siblings should have been tranquilised and placed with her in the enclosure in Ranthambhore. Instead, we continued to play with fire,” he said.

On Monday, hours after the third death, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), with the Union Minister’s approval, cleared the proposal to shift the three tigers from Ranthambhore. But a go-ahead from the Environment Ministry is still awaited, said Rajasthan Chief Wildlife Warden Shikha Mehra.

Consider the timeline:

April 16: Tigress Kankati kills 7-year-old Kartik Suman, who came to visit the Ganesh temple.
May 11: Kankati and her male sibling kill Range Officer Devendra Singh.
May 13: As per the NTCA’s SOP, a technical committee is formed in Ranthambhore with local, state and central representatives to suggest the way forward.
May 17: The committee submits its report to the state government, recommending that tigress Arrowhead’s three sub-adult cubs should be shifted out of Ranthambhore.

The recommendation was backed by three key observations:

• Arrowhead’s three cubs approach people without fear;
• They are weak and vulnerable to other sub-adult cubs looking to eke out territories in the area
• They are a risk to forest staff and visitors because they roam around Jogimahal, the fort and the pilgrim routes
• May 21: Rajasthan sends the committee’s report to the NTCA for approval.
• May 30: The recommendation is cleared at the 13th Technical Committee meeting of the NTCA and sent for the Environment Minister’s approval.
• June 9: Third fatal attack in Ranthambhore around 5 am.

When contacted, NTCA member-secretary Govid Sagar Bhardwaj said, “the Authority cleared it (the recommendation) as soon as possible”.

The Environment Ministry’s clearance is awaited from the ADG (Forests) Ramesh Kumar Pandey, who did not respond to a request for comment.

A former NTCA official cautioned against “too much bureaucracy” when “prompt field action” is required: “The Wildlife Act stipulates that the Centre’s nod is needed to shift tigers. When the NTCA, a central agency, issues a clearance with the minister’s nod, do we need another layer of approval from the ministry?”