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A genetically compatible male tiger from Ranthambore Tiger reserve has been relocated to the Sariska Tiger reserve in Alwar District, Rajashthan, reviving hopes for tiger breeding at the reserve. Earlier, three other tigers had been brought into the reserve but failed to produce offspring. "When it was first planned, we decided that five tigers would be brought from Ranthambore. In the first stage, five will be brought and then later on our specialists will decide," said Jairam Ramesh, Environment Minister on Tuesday. "When three tigers were brought here, and there was a mating process, they bore no children. So people said that it was mating between siblings and that from Ranthambore the siblings were brought. There were some issues on this. There have been talks in the National Tigers Conservation Authority and we've done genetic analysis in Bangalore in an organization called National Center for Biological Sciences and we've done the tests over there," added Ramesh. The Forest Minister of Rajasthan, Ram Lal Jat, and the forest authorities were also present during the relocation of the tigers. Poaching and loss of habitat have caused the number of tigers to plunge to alarming figures in India. According to the latest tiger census report released on February 12, 2008 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the current tiger population stands at 1,411.

Tigers relocated in Rajashthan reserves to revive breeding