One male and four female tigers are proposed to be shifted to Rajaji Tiger Reserve’s western zone after approval from the NTCA and the Union government.
Uttarakhand | September 23, 2026
Uttarakhand is preparing for the second phase of its Corbett-to-Rajaji tiger translocation programme, with five more tigers set to be moved from Corbett Tiger Reserve to the western part of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
The new group will comprise one male and four female tigers, according to Corbett Tiger Reserve director Saket Badola. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Government of India have approved the programme, and officials have begun preparations to identify suitable animals for relocation.
Why Are Tigers Being Moved?
The main objective of the programme is to strengthen the tiger population in Rajaji, particularly in the reserve’s western sector.
Corbett supports one of India’s major source populations of tigers. Its relatively strong population makes it an important landscape from which tigers can be selected for scientifically managed translocation to suitable habitats.
Badola said officials are also examining sensitive areas around Corbett where tigers living close to human settlements could potentially result in human-wildlife conflict. Such areas may be considered while suitable animals are identified for relocation.
Four of the Five Tigers Will Be Females
The composition of the proposed group is significant — four females and one male.
Establishing breeding females is particularly important when attempting to build a viable tiger population. Occasional movement of male tigers through a landscape cannot by itself create a self-sustaining population.
The programme therefore aims not simply to increase the number of individual tigers in Rajaji but ultimately to establish a stable breeding population.
Five Tigers Already Shifted in First Phase
The latest operation follows an earlier phase in which five tigers — two males and three females — were translocated from Corbett to Rajaji.
The programme was initiated because the western part of Rajaji had struggled to sustain a breeding tiger population despite containing potentially suitable habitat.
One of the principal problems is poor connectivity.
NTCA documentation has identified the Chilla-Motichur corridor across the Ganga as severely impaired. Roads, railway lines, canals, settlements and other infrastructure have affected natural tiger movement through parts of the wider Rajaji-Corbett landscape.
As a result, natural recolonisation of western Rajaji has been difficult, making managed translocation an important conservation intervention.
How Will the Tigers Be Selected?
The five animals have not yet simply been chosen from Corbett’s tiger population.
Forest officials are surveying different parts of the reserve to identify suitable candidates. Factors such as the tiger’s age, health, location and behaviour are expected to be considered before an animal is selected.
Once identified, an expert team will tranquilise the tiger and conduct the required veterinary examinations and other procedures.
Each animal will also be fitted with a radio collar before being transported to Rajaji.
Radio collars will enable wildlife managers to monitor the movements of the relocated tigers and determine whether they establish territories, interact with other tigers or move towards human-dominated areas.
Translocation Could Also Help Reduce Conflict
An interesting element of the latest phase is the possibility of selecting suitable tigers from areas where their presence close to settlements creates potential conflict.
If scientifically appropriate animals can be moved from such locations, the operation could serve two conservation purposes — reducing potential conflict around Corbett while strengthening the tiger population in Rajaji.
However, selection and translocation must be based on ecological and veterinary considerations rather than conflict management alone.
Corbett and Rajaji Are Part of a Larger Tiger Landscape
Although Corbett and Rajaji are separate tiger reserves, ecologically they belong to the broader Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains tiger landscape.
Forests and wildlife corridors connecting protected areas allow tigers and other large mammals to disperse across the landscape.
Maintaining these corridors remains essential even when conservation authorities use translocation to supplement populations.
Artificially moving tigers can help restore a population, but in the long term, functioning wildlife corridors provide the natural movement and genetic exchange required for healthy tiger populations.
The Real Test Will Be Breeding
The success of the programme cannot ultimately be measured simply by counting how many tigers are transported from Corbett to Rajaji.
The crucial questions will be whether the relocated animals survive, establish territories, breed successfully and produce cubs that themselves survive and eventually reproduce.
This is particularly why the proposed movement of four females is significant.
If breeding females establish territories in western Rajaji and successfully raise cubs, the population could gradually become less dependent on additional translocations.
A Second Chance for Western Rajaji
The second phase represents another important step in restoring tigers to a landscape where natural recolonisation has been restricted by fragmented connectivity.
Moving another five animals will bring additional breeding potential into Rajaji, but continued monitoring, adequate prey, habitat protection and improved landscape connectivity will remain essential.
The ultimate objective is not merely to put more tigers into Rajaji, but to establish a secure, breeding and eventually self-sustaining tiger population in the reserve’s western landscape.
Source credit: . Additional background: NTCA and Government of India tiger-conservation documents.
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