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[Apollo]

 Adult tiger bred in captivity set for Pench release
 

In probably just the second experiment in the country, two tigresses, rescued as 6-month-old cubs, hand-reared in captivity and now aged 5 and half years, will be radio-collared and released into the wild in the Pench Tiger Reserve.Though the move comes after a nod from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), there is huge risk involved as the tigresses — Sukhwasi and Ganeshpipri — have only been 'trained to hunt' while being kept in two huge separate cages in Pench itself.

Though the NTCA had certified in 2011 that the tigresses were fit to be released in the wild, it was delayed due to various reasons, the latest one being Delhi customs not clearing the satellite radio collars procured from Germany. The order for the collars was placed on November 28, 2013 but it took more than a year to get clearance.

The final clearance came from the union ministry of telecommunications and information technology on January 1. Its permission was needed as the radio collars were fitted with satellite monitors. "As suggested by the NTCA, we will release only one tigress first," Pench chief conservator of forests (CCF) & field director MS Reddy told on Monday.

It is not known which of the tigresses will be released first. However, it's learnt that the one which is more aggressive will be released first. Either way, they will have a 'soft release'. "It involves continuing care for animals at the release site, particularly backup feeding," said a forest official. "It will help the tigress learn about her surroundings and learn survival skills such as hunting.

"Though some experts spoke to said the release in the wild is fraught with danger, the only previous recorded experiment was successful. Madhya Pradesh had released a wildcat each in Kanha and Panna Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh. Both, T4 and T5, were slightly older than Sukhwasi and Ganeshpipri.

"T4 and T5 were orphaned in 2005 when they were just a month old," said Panna field director RS Murthy."They were hand-reared in Kanha. T4 bred thrice and raised the cubs twice. T5 delivered cubs once but abandoned them. T4 is no more while T5 is still alive."

Sukhwasi and Ganeshpipri, and a male Bhangaram (Talodi) were rescued separately from Gondpipri in Dhaba forest range in Chandrapur in September 2009 after their mother went missing.The male tiger, which was "sluggish" and deemed unfit for a release in the wild, has found a new home in the Katraj zoo in Pune.

The three were hand-reared in a temporary shelter in Bor Wildlife Sanctuary for three years. After an outcry by wildlife activists, the cubs were shifted to a bigger enclosure spread over 4 hectares in Pench in May-June 2013.The two tigresses were trained to hunt live animals like chitals, sambars, nilgais and buffalo calves at times. The herbivores used to be let into the enclosure.

Reddy said that how the two will actually behave in the wild will only be known if they are released. "They will be monitored closely.If they are seen moving near human habitations, they will have to be captured and sent to a zoo," he added.

However, wildlife experts, who did not want to be quoted, said releasing fully grown adult tigers was a big gamble. "In the case of Panna tigers, the move was initiated to reintroduce tigers in that sanctuary as there were none remaining," one said.

They argued that Pench, where one tigress is planned to be released, already has tigers, some of which are in dispersal stage. They feared the tigress to be released should not "suffer" in territorial fights. Moreover, the tigress to be released has not learnt the skill a mother teaches her cubs to protect themselves from enemies and wild dangers.

A three-member NTCA team comprising Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientists Bilal Habib and Parag Nigam and NTCA assistant inspector general (AIG) Ravikiran Govekar had given the go-ahead for the "soft release" of the tigress subject to compliance of certain conditions.

In October 2011, a two-member team of WII consisting of K Ramesh Kumar and Parag Nigam had said that the tigers were good candidates for rehabilitation.However, fate of the tigers was mired in red tape that led to unwarranted delay in release.

Reddy said even though radio collars have been cleared, permission from chief wildlife warden and NTCA will have to be taken again."The NTCA team will once again be asked to review all compliances. A 15-member team will be sent to Panna for 20 days training. If all goes well, we expect to release the tigress in February," he added.

The second tigress will only be released if the experiment on the first is successful.

In an almost similar experiment in 2000, APCCF GV Reddy from Rajasthan 'fed' abandoned tiger cubs in Ranthambhore without putting them in an enclosure. The two 8-month-old cubs were groomed in the open after their mother died.The cubs were given goats as live bait. "When we stopped feeding them, the cubs would venture closer to a village. Then they had to be driven back to the park and continued to be given live baits until they started hunting on their own."



 MAHA EXPERIMENTS WITH TIGER


* Two tigresses, rescued as cubs and now aged 5.5 years, have learnt hunting skills only when herbivores were released into the huge enclosures they were kept

* They may or may not turn out to be good mothers. As they are full-grown adults, they will have to quickly adapt to their surroundings

* Both will have satellite radio collars fitted on their necks

* Only one will be released first. The 'soft' release will see it being monitored continuously

* Staff will be trained to keep watch on them

* The second will be released only if the first experiment is successful

* A similar experiment conducted in Madhya Pradesh was quite successful

* Several reasons in release delay

* Radio collared were not cleared by Delh customs; final clearance came on January 1

* Pench chosen as release forest as it has large population of deer familiar to the two tigresses who have hunted them in captivity

* The 4 hectare enclosure where the tigresses have been kept, encompasses dense forest and will quickly become familiar to the forest area

* Pench landscape is good and vast and connects many Pas

* Experts wary as the tigresses could succumb in territorial fights


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/...768633.cms

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