A tiger that was missing for 9 years has once more been seen in Ranthambore National Park. T-38 had not been spotted in the park for years and it was believed to have gone to Kuno Wildlife in Madhya Pradesh where he was spotted on several cameras over the years. Now, he's back home.??
As per a report in The New Indian Express, he is 13 years old and was seen on October 19 in Kundera sanctuary. At the age of 4, he had ventured into MP.?
"Tiger T 38 has returned to Ranthambore and his movement is restricted to the Kundera and Taleda region for the time being. T38 migrated from Ranthambore in 2011 and when it was tracked down in Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary in MP which is over 150 km away. Every tiger has unique stripes on the skin. In October, we received photographs of tigers that didn't match with any of the IDs of our tigers. When we received the photo for the second time, the tiger's left-right side stripes matched with T38 which had gone to MP about nine years ago," Said Sanjeev Sharma, ACF Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.?
"Tigers are more in numbers in Ranthambore and that's the reason why the animals migrate to other regions. T38 is around 13-years-old and at this age, tigers usually don't migrate. Maybe a young male tiger acquired the territory of this tiger and since he knew the track he returned back," he added.?
It's 'Ghar Wapsi' for this big cat and looks like he may stick around for some time. Time will tell how things pan out.??
Ranthambore is a major tourist attraction and tigers are the main event. People flock to it from all over the country and different parts of the world to get a look at the big cat in its natural habitat.