Hope grows stronger for tigers at Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand as one more male adult tiger was translocated from Corbett Tiger Reserve to the western side of Rajaji in May this year. With this, the total number of tigers translocated to the Reserve over the last five years rose to five. This landmark exercise was conducted by the Uttarakhand Forest Department in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and WWF-India to supplement the recovery of the tiger population in the western part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
RAJAJI ENDURING
Rajaji Tiger Reserve is a crucial Protected Area (PA) and represents the westernmost limit of the tiger range globally. The Reserve is also home to the Asian elephant and supports some of the country's highest known densities of leopards. Rajaji has faced unique challenges due to the expansion of urban centres between the eastern and western portions of the PA. A highway and railway line further impeded connectivity for tigers and other animals.
© Ajay Lingwal/Rajaji TR
Until the early 2000s, both eastern and western parts of Rajaji supported resident tiger populations, but tigers ebbed away in western Rajaji, likely because of tenuous connectivity with the eastern parts of Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Before the translocations, tigers occupied less than 20% of the habitat in the western part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, with photographic evidence establishing the presence of just two females and no signs of breeding since around 2006. Therefore, tiger translocation was considered a necessary step towards species recovery.
After several years of planning, a plan to supplement the tiger population in western Rajaji with tigers from Corbett Tiger Reserve was implemented in 2020.
"Tigers play an important role in ecosystems, and the dwindling tiger population in Rajaji Tiger Reserve was cause for concern. Therefore, we worked closely with the Uttarakhand Forest Department to support tiger translocation to the western part of Rajaji, where wild ungulate densities were sufficiently high for tiger population recovery over the years. Long-term research had indicated that with sustained recovery efforts involving habitat restoration, strengthened monitoring and patrolling, and securing key corridors, including by mitigating linear infrastructure impacts in the corridor-- supported by translocation-- the western part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and its surrounding forests could hold over 30 tigers," says
Dr Pranav Chanchani, Head of Species Conservation,
Wildlife and Habitats Division, WWF-India.
TIGER TRANSLOCATION
Since 2020, five tigers have been translocated from Corbett Tiger Reserve to the western part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve. The first tiger (female) was translocated in December 2020, the second tiger (male) in January 2021, the third tiger (female) in May 2023, the fourth tiger (female) in March 2024, and the fifth tiger (male) in May 2025.
The preparation for the translocation exercise was scrupulously planned by the Uttarakhand Forest Department and collaborating agencies such as NTCA, WII, and WWF-India, involving experienced forest department officials, veterinarians, biologists, and conservation professionals with diverse expertise. The capture and transport were meticulously executed for each translocation operation, as wild tigers are challenging to locate or capture. Once darted and fitted with a radio collar, the tigers were transported in a specially adapted cage designed to ensure their safety.
The behaviour and health of captured and translocated tigers were monitored, with animals first being held in a specially designed soft-release enclosure in the western Rajaji Tiger Reserve before their release into the wild.
The Uttarakhand Forest Department worked closely with NTCA, WII, and WWF-India to create enabling conditions for tiger recovery in the western part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve. For this, we directed efforts to restore connectivity with the eastern Rajaji via functional corridors, increased protection, and implemented conflict management mechanisms. The translocation of tigers to Rajaji Tiger Reserve will help strengthen the tiger population in the western part of the Reserve, which had lost most of its tigers”.
Dr Koko Rose, Conservator of Forests & Field Director,
Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand Forest Department
FOLLOW UP
Monitoring translocated tigers is essential to ensure the success of such a programme. Each translocated tiger was fitted with a GPS collar, and WWF-India aided the forest department in setting up and training a monitoring team to track tigers on the ground by following tracks and signs, aided by GPS coordinates and honing in using VHF signals emitted by the collars. Tracking was to help managers and conservationists understand range, territory formation, foraging ecology, and reproduction.
WAY FORWARD
Breeding of translocated tigers has been reported, and with committed conservation efforts, tiger recovery is anticipated over the next few years.
Undoubtedly, the translocation heralds new hope for the recovery of tigers in a tract of forest west of the Ganga River in the Terai Arc Landscape. As the tiger population grows, there is every possibility that tigers will disperse out of the western Rajaji Tiger Reserve into the surrounding landscape, including PAs and reserve forests in nearby Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, thus expanding the species' distribution into productive areas of its historic range.
WWF-India remains committed to supporting the conservation of tigers, co-occurring species, and habitats through diverse approaches and partnerships and a strong emphasis on participatory and inclusive conservation.