Four years after wildlife observers said they lost track of a male
tiger in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) at Chandrapur near
Nagpur, an image of Ookhan was captured via a camera trap far away from
his home early this month.
Eight-year-old Ookhan was spotted 80-100 km away near Pathri, a village close to Ghodazhari area, where safaris recently began. The area and falls under the Brahmapur division adjoining TATR.
The stripe pattern of Ookhan from a 2012 photograph matched with tiger’s image recorded by the camera trap on March 2 this year. Stripe patterns are unique to every tiger.
“It is a known fact that male cubs generally travel farther away from their mother’s territory to establish their own. This prevents inbreeding among tigers,” said Jignesh Patel, a naturalist, and who has been visiting TATR for six years.
Born in 2009 to Yeda Anna (also known as Crooked Tail) and mother Tara (or Nakkatti) in the Moharli range, Ookhan separated from his mother in 2011. Moving 15-20 km away, the two-year-old was regularly seen at Vasant Bhandara — his father’s territory. Vasant Bhandara was dominated by two older male tigers Katezhari (better known as Tyson) and Gabbar, making it difficult for Ookhan to establish his territory.
Credits : Four years on, missing male tiger of Tadoba reserve spotted
By Snehal Fernandes
Hindustan Times, Mumbai
March 21, 2017
Eight-year-old Ookhan was spotted 80-100 km away near Pathri, a village close to Ghodazhari area, where safaris recently began. The area and falls under the Brahmapur division adjoining TATR.
The stripe pattern of Ookhan from a 2012 photograph matched with tiger’s image recorded by the camera trap on March 2 this year. Stripe patterns are unique to every tiger.
“It is a known fact that male cubs generally travel farther away from their mother’s territory to establish their own. This prevents inbreeding among tigers,” said Jignesh Patel, a naturalist, and who has been visiting TATR for six years.
Born in 2009 to Yeda Anna (also known as Crooked Tail) and mother Tara (or Nakkatti) in the Moharli range, Ookhan separated from his mother in 2011. Moving 15-20 km away, the two-year-old was regularly seen at Vasant Bhandara — his father’s territory. Vasant Bhandara was dominated by two older male tigers Katezhari (better known as Tyson) and Gabbar, making it difficult for Ookhan to establish his territory.
Credits : Four years on, missing male tiger of Tadoba reserve spotted
By Snehal Fernandes
Hindustan Times, Mumbai
March 21, 2017
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