There is a new tiger in Jai's territory

Jai UKWS star attraction has gone missing since April this year a month after he was radiocollared File PicWhile Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuarys UKWS star attraction Jai is still off the radar of authorities a new tiger has been seen roaming his territory A group of wildlife photographers have photographed the new tiger who is smaller than Jai They are now questioning the FD about why this male has not been pushed out of UKWS by the seven tigers who allegedly removed Jai from the sanctuaryThe new male tiger is around 25 to 3yearsold and has come from the south Umred territorial zone located at a distance of 2530 km from the area where Jai used to roam According to an FD official the total territory where Jai used to roam was UKWS and Brahmapuri division which is more than 180 square kilometres Rakesh Guddu a wildlife photographer spotted the new male tiger in UKWS more than a week back and clicked his photos The images include flank shots of the tigers right and left body and the same has been shared with FDRiddle for scientistsSpeaking to midday Sarosh Lodhi wildlife photographer and founder of Conservation Lenses and Wildlife ClaW said One of the most important reasons given by scientists about Jais disappearance is that he might have been pushed out of his territory by other young males from UKWS But now it has been observed that there is a new male tiger currently roaming Jais territory who surprisingly has not yet been pushed out by the male tigers who allegedly removed Jai The scientists monitoring Jai should now also give a reason why the new male has not been pushed outA wildlife photographer spotted the new male tiger in UKWS more than a week back and clicked his photos These have also been shared with the Forest Department PicsRakesh GudduScientists from Wildlife Institute of India WII and the Forest Department officials have been claiming that one of the most important reasons behind the absence of Jai from UKWS might be that the seven male tigers in UKWS pushed him outFD WII hiding their faultsScoffing at the claims a wildlife lover said The forest department and especially the WII scientists have not done proper monitoring of Jai or else we would have known his whereabouts In order to hide their shortcoming and fault they are giving a bizarre reason of Jai being pushed out of UKWS by seven other male tigers If the same had been true then the seven males would not have allowed the new male tiger to roam in UKWS But the new tiger which is much smaller to Jai is moving in his territory without facing any challenge from the other tigersIn a July 26 story midday had reported some wildlife conservationists saying the big cats disappearance is not necessarily a wildlife tragedy but a sign that tiger conservation is now a roaring success No sign of Jai yet but there are plenty of other tigers According to them Jai may have moved out of UKWS because there are now several male tigers fighting for limited territory thereScientist saysScientist Dr Bilal Habib from Wildlife Institute of India WII who had radiocollared Jai said Yes it is true that one new male has been spotted roaming UKWS The tiger has come from south Umred Usually tigers travel across the landscape in the monsoon so it would be difficult to say whether the new tiger will be able to establish its territory in UKWS as there are also chances that it might be pushed out by other seven males21kmExpanse of the area where Jai used to roamPace of search slows downSome wildlife photographers and conservationists are of the opinion that the decision to radiocollar Jai was wrong as it was only after this that the star of UKWS started avoiding touristsCommenting on the search operation for him a forest department official from Nagpur said Officially the search operation has not been called off but yes the pace of the work has decreased a bit People criticizing us should understand that we have taken the best possible efforts to find the animal and our teams are still doing it