Kolkata:
For the second time ever, a royal Bengal tiger has been fitted with a radio collar in the Sunderbans to provide valuable data to experts currently engaged in a tiger population estimation exercise.
The last time a tiger was radio collared in 2006, the mechanism only worked for five months. The latest collar is more sophisticated.
A 9-year-old tigress was caught on Sunday after she had strayed into Sonaga village. For wildlife experts, she presented the perfect opportunity for radio collaring.
"We are using a satellite-based radio collar. We need to collar the tiger to find out its home range in the Sunderbans. We don't have much idea about it. After being radio collared, it will be monitored through satellites," said chief conservator A K Raha.
On Wednesday, experts from the Wildlife Institute of India tranquilised a tigress and fit her with a radio collar from Germany that has an internal antenna.
Last time, the collar used had an external antenna that malfunctioned in a couple of months.
"She has revived very well. She is alert, reacting well and fit," said Dr Parag Nigam of the Wildlife Institute of India.
After her release, the tigress did seem a little groggy. But latest reports from those tracking her round the clock indicate that big cat is back in business and roaming the forest freely.