A committee has been set up to find out whether another tiger can be released in the sanctuary as T1C1's mate
It is believed that T1C1 left from Tipeshwar wildlife sanctuary in search of a mate. Pic/WII/Maharashtra Forest Department
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), which has been monitoring tiger T1C1's 2,000-km journey from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary to the Dnyanganga forest, told mid-day that the animal seems to have settled down in the area and will not disperse further. A committee has also been set up to see whether another tiger can be released in the sanctuary as a mate for T1C1.
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Senior scientist from WII, Dr Bilal Habib, who along with his team has been tracking the movement of T1C1, said, "Our team has been tracking tiger T1C1's movement and till date it has travelled close to 2,000 km. Currently it's inside Dnyanganga wildlife sanctuary. It has already settled down in the sanctuary and will not disperse now."
Speaking to mid-day, Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Maharashtra, Nitin Kakodkar said, "Our teams along with the WII scientists are keeping a tab on its movement. It's currently inside the Dnyanganga forest. Even if it goes out of the sanctuary, it returns, which means it has settled there."
A committee has been set up to find out whether another tiger can be released in the sanctuary as T1C1's mate.
"It seems that the Dnyanganga wildlife sanctuary is a potential tiger habitat and we have formed a committee, which includes scientist Dr Bilal Habib, a National Tiger Conservation Authority member, a deputy conservator of forest and wildlife conservationist Kishor Rithe to see whether we can release another tiger in the forest. We also plan to change the battery in T1C1's radio collar as more than 80 per cent of its battery is over.
We are waiting for it to properly settle down in the sanctuary after which the battery can be changed, because we want to monitor the big cat," added Kakodkar.
It is also believed that T1C1 dispersed from the Tipeshwar sanctuary to find a mate.
According to researchers, T1C1 (a sub-adult male tiger C1, one of the three cubs of T-1) was radio-collared on February 27, 2019 as part of the tiger dispersal project – Studying dispersal of tigers across the eastern Vidarbha landscape, Maharashtra. When he was captured for radio collaring, he had a wire snare around the abdomen, which was hindering its normal growth. The snare was removed and his injuries treated. The tiger took about a month to recover after which it started dispersing.
The report submitted to the principal chief conservator of forest of Maharashtra by the WII team says, "The tiger continued to use the forest area of Tipeshwar till the monsoon in June 2019. During this period, he extensively explored the sanctuary but could not find a suitable area to settle down. Finally on June 21, 2019 the tiger started dispersing out of the Tipeshwar sanctuary. He started moving southwards towards Painganga wildlife sanctuary after which he went towards Kawal tiger reserve. After exploring the area to the north of the Kawal reserve, he turned back and returned towards Painganga wildlife sanctuary. After exploring the area, the tiger continued dispersing westwards towards Washim." The report also states that by November 2019, he had travelled a staggering distance of about 1,100 kms.
"During his dispersal period, the animal was continuously monitored jointly by the WII and the Maharashtra and Telangana Forest Departments using on-field VHF tracking and GPS satellite tracking," states the report.
Dispersal behaviour
While dispersing, the tiger used landscapes where humans have settled extensively. He developed a strategy to hide during the daytime and move across agricultural lands in the night. He sustained himself on the human-dominated landscapes by killing wild pigs and cattle. The tiger used habitats like nullahs in and around agricultural fields with thick cover to rest during the day and then travelled across crop fields at night.
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