Explained: Why Ranthambore tiger T-104 is likely to spend the rest of his life in a cage

The loud and majestic roar of a tiger known as T-104 belonging to the forest region of Ranthambore may soon not be heard.

Officials of Rajasthan’s Ranthambore are mulling moving the big cat into a cage in Darrah Range of Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) where it is expected to live out his life.

T-104, also known as Aves, has been “declared dangerous to human life” and will become the second male tiger in the state, after T-24 , which was also known as Ustad, to be shifted from its original territory and kept in captivity for the rest of its life.

All aboutT-104

T-104 is believed to have been born around 2016 and is believed to be the cub of T-41 aka Laila and T-64 Akash.

Officials say that T-104 was first noticed by driver Mohan Singh during a safari in Ranthambore in 2016.

As per his account, in 2016, Laila had her second litter with T-64. The second litter of T-41, Laila, was first seen in zone number 5 on 20 October 2016, during a Ranthambore safari by a driver. However, the driver noticed only one cub on that drive.

On 31 October 2016, T-41 was sighted with her two cubs. From 31 October to 11 November 2016, she was sighted with her two cubs occasionally. After that, she was sighted with her single cub on 6 December 2016 and this single cub is known as T-104.

Since his birth until 2019, the handsome T-104 used to be a big draw of zone number 5 at Ranthambore. However, as time passed, he became older and was pushed out of his territory by the younger tiger T-64.

Also read: Maya, Machli, Munna, naam toh suna hoga?: How India’s legendary tigers got their names

T-104’s killer fame

In September 2019, T-104 quickly turned famous for all the wrong reasons. He killed three people in a span of two months around the Karauli district, giving the tag of ‘dangerous to human life’.

His first victim was a woman who had stepped out to answer nature’s call. Following this, the feline killed a 40-year-old man near Karauli — its second prey.

Following these two kills in August 2019, in mid-September, T-104 killed his third prey, a 30-year-old man, identified later as Pintu Mali, who was asleep in his hut in the Karauli district again. Forest officials speaking on the third kill had been quoted as saying, “It dragged the body inside the forest.”

Left with no choice and sensing more trouble, forest officials declared him a ‘man-eater’ and launched a chase for the tiger, which ended after 11 long days.

After his capture, he has been kept in an enclosure in Ranthambore’s Bheed forest region.

Why cage him though?

As per a Times of India report, the chief wildlife warden recently wrote a letter to shift the tiger from Ranthambore National Park to an enclosure in Darrah range, which is off tourist limits.”

A senior forest official added that the enclosure in Bheed wasn’t feasible for T-104 as he kept confronting other big cats in the area. T-104’s enclosure is wedged between the natural passageway connecting Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary.

Ranthambore’s problem of plenty

Wildlife conservationists and experts have criticised the Ranthambore officials for suggesting to move T-104 to a cage, stating that it will only make him more aggressive — a reason he resorted to man eating and sparring with other tigers.

Experts state that one of the reasons why the big cat became so aggressive was because of the overcrowding in forest reserves.

Former Ranthambore field director Manoj Parashar was quoted as telling The Print that since 2014 there has been a 30 to 35 per cent increase in the population of Ranthambore tigers. As a result of this, the tigers are jostling for space.

From 59 tigers in 2014, the current population of big cats in the Reserve has reached 86. That's 86 tigers spreads across 1,334 square km, making it the third most congested habitat of the big cats in India after Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand and Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

Once pushed outside the safety of the protected forest they are at the mercy of angry villagers and poachers.

With inputs from agencies

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