Another tiger death rattles Nagzira

Nagpur: Two back-to-back tiger deaths have rattled Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in Gondia and Bhandara districts, where the tiger population is steady and the forest department had released three tigresses to augment the population of big cats.
On Sunday (September 22) morning, the carcass of T9, reserve's 10-year-old dominant male, was found in compartment number 96.On Monday, one more sub-adult male was found dead in compartment number 99. The carcass was highly decomposed and over three days old. T9 was the father of the dead sub-adult cub. With the two deaths, the tiger toll in Maharashtra this year has mounted to 18.
Both cases seem to be the outcome of a territorial fight as the carcass of T9 bore grievous injuries on its neck, forehead, and forelimbs, indicating a fierce battle between the two big tigers. Similar injuries were noticed on the body of the two-year-old cub. The carcass was found 150 metres deep inside the forest.
NNTR field director Jayerame Gowda confirmed the tiger deaths appear to be the result of a territorial fight with another male tiger. The suspected culprit is a robust male tiger from the buffer zone, who had been exploring the core area frequently in the recent past. It has been captured on camera traps near where the tiger deaths occurred.
The mystery male that killed the two tigers is nick-named Pangdi male or NT2 male. It has entered Nagzira from other tiger reserves, maybe Kanha or Pench.
NT2 is one of the two tigresses that was released on May 18, 2023, in NNTR to augment the tiger population. One tigress (NT1) was captured from Armori (Gadchiroli), and another (NT2) from Pangdi near the Kolsa range of Tadoba. NT1 left the park shortly after its release and is said to be in the Nagzira-Kanha corridor, while NT2 has turned resident and moves between the buffer and core area.
Wildlife conservationists working in Nagzira landscape have sounded a note of caution on both tiger deaths. They said, "T9, the dominant male of NNTR, had sired 15 cubs from four tigresses. It killed one of them. Among tigers, multiple males may compete for mating with the same females. This can lead to males killing cubs that aren't theirs, so that the females will mate with them."
"We are worried about the protection of other cubs now. The sub-adult that was killed was T4's cub. It has three more cubs, including a male. One of the tigresses, T14, has four cubs and another in New Nagzira has three cubs," they said.
NTCA-WII national tiger monitoring report of 2022 shows the tiger population in the state is estimated to be 444. The 653 sqkm NNTR has 12 tigers, excluding cubs. Though there is enough scope to accommodate additional tigers, why tigers are deserting the park needs to be studied.
Wildlife conservationists blamed the state government for the mess, as NNTR does not have administrative control of the unified buffer. This is mandatory as per the amended Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 on September 4, 2006. "This was done to protect reserves and provide site-specific habitat inputs for a viable population of tigers, co-predators, and prey animals in the buffer zone," said Sawan Bahekar, honorary wildlife warden.
The NNTR buffer zone was notified on September 7, 2016, with an area of over 1,241 sqkm, which includes 648.68 sqkm of forest and 592.59 sqkm of revenue area, and 186 villages in it. However, even after 8 years, buffer control is not with the tiger reserve.