B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India

[Roflcopters]

Ookhan resurfaces after 4.5 years of absence from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve.

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Four years on, missing male tiger of Tadoba reserve spotted. The journey to adulthood I had previously shared about the Circuit Gang family of Moharli range. Born in 2009, the four cubs of father Yeda Anna and mother Tara (or Nakkatti as she later came to be known), were seen together till 2011. Sadly, one of the male cubs, Circuit, did not make it to adulthood, while Choti Tara moved on to make a territory for herself in the Tadoba range, and is one of the most famous and recognizable tigers of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve today. Remaining two cubs from the litter, male Ookhan and female Imli, were never seen or recorded post 2013. Surprisingly, Ookhan, one of the male cubs was recently photographed on a camera trap near a village named Pathri. This village is near the Ghodazhari area, where safaris were recently started, and falls under the Brahmapuri division. After separating from his mother, Ookhan was regularly seen at Vasant Bhandara. He was a young male, and this was not his territory. Young males wander as nomads, till they are old enough to establish a territory for themselves. When Katezhari male (or better known as Tyson) and Gabbar started visiting Vasant Bhandara area regularly, Ookhan, too young to challenge the older dominant males, had to move out. His whereabouts were a mystery, until the camera trap image recently surfaced. It is a known fact that male cubs generally travel farther away from their mother’s territory to establish their own territory. This prevents inbreeding among tigers. Ookhan would have travelled between 80 to 100 km to reach Ghodazhari. This is not a great achievement by any means; tigers have been recorded to travel more than 600 km. But the way Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve is set, surrounded by villages and fields on all sides, it is difficult for a tiger to survive outside the park. In the absence of the usual prey animals, they mostly have to kill livestock, which puts them on the villager’s radar, and there is a constant threat from the poachers. For a tiger to survive cunningly against all odds is nothing short of a miracle. Ookhan would be around eight years old now, and hence is in his prime. This could mean that this area where he was photographed, could be his territory. More photographs from the area are required to prove this. But if one tiger has made it outside Tadoba, who known how many more ‘missing’ tigers from Tadoba are out there.

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with a sufficient prey base in Brahmapuri, no doubt he took advantage of the habitat and grew to his max potential. big powerful male! 


http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-new...VdDXL.html

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Large Kaziranga male from the Western range - March/2017

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T57 - the king of Ranthambore - June/2016

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T-58 the brother of T57 from Ranthambore - March/2017

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Khursapar male of Pench, MH sighted near Khursapar gate - Feb/2017

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Matkasur male on the move - Feb/2017

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Matkasur male near Khatoda  - Jan/2017 

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Raja the king of Bandipur - Feb/2017

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the biggest male of Ranthambore, T42 aka Fateh of Zone 10. Jan/2017

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T42 aka Fateh Reply