Skewed sex ratio: Tigresses to be introduced in Panna Reserve

New Delhi (PTI): The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved rpt approved a plan to increase the number of tigresses in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger reserve where they are outnumbered by their male counterparts, leaving little choice for mating for the latter.

"The NTCA has recently approved a proposal to introduce wild tigress from the nearby tiger parks to the Panna region spread over Vindhyan Range of the Northern states," authority's member secretary Rajesh Gopal told PTI here.

"Because of the imbalance in the tiger population, the officials at the reserve are obviously in a piquant situation.

Skewed sex ratio in favour of male will no doubt threaten the population of the striped animal," Gopal said, explaining that usually two or three tigress and a male tiger is the most economical sex ratio.

He said a male tiger usually establishes a large territory which includes two or three small territories of the females which share the area without any hostility with their male counterparts.

Though, he said it was not easy to estimate the number of male and female big cats left in the region, "but the skewed sex ratio effects breeding which in turn will have adverse impact on future population."

Late last year, at the behest of Environment Ministry, a team of experts visited the region to gauge the situation following reports that there were very few tigresses.

In its report, the team recommended immediate steps to set the ratio right before "the Sariska like episode is repeated in the region."

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