In the wake of a Ranthambore tiger being spotted with wire snare around its neck, the forest department of the Rajasthan government has issued a ‘Red Alert’ till February 28, 2021 for all wildlife reserves, sanctuaries, and parks in the state. Under the ‘Red Alert’, all forest officials have been directed to intensify search operations and seek local police assistance to nab hunters and criminals.
The order issued on Saturday says, “All forest officials under the ‘Red Alert’ have been directed to intensify search operations and seek help from local police to nab hunters and criminals. The department further cancels leaves of all field officers, and directions have been issued for effective patrolling against illegal activities in protected areas,” it says further.
The order also added that reports had earlier been received from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve about animals being caught in traps laid by hunters.
“Recently, five hunters have also been arrested in Mount Abu for hunting a sambar deer, looking to which red alert has been announced till February 2021,” it said. Forest department’s senior officer Shruti Sharma gave clear orders that all officers and employees will work seriously in hunting for the hunters during the red alert.
Earlier, a total of 26 tigers have also been reported missing from Ranthambore.
The tiger T-108 spotted with wire has raised many questions, such as, have these tigers also fallen prey like T-108? What happened to them is yet to be answered by the forest department officials.
Rajsamand MP, Diya Kumari, earlier in August had sent a letter to Union Minister of Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar and raised a demand to issue necessary guidelines to the state government for investigating the causes of the recent tiger deaths so that such incidents do not recur.