Jaipur, October 28: A young tiger has overpowered an old tiger to dominate a large and crucial territory in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. The old tiger, identified as ST-6, had been ruling the prized territory for over six years. However, ST-21, a young male tiger named Yuvraj, has now wrested power and dethroned ST-6 from the area. Experts see the regime change as a sign of thriving tiger population in Sariska Tiger Reserve. Wild Boar Kills Royal Bengal Tiger During Fight in Kaziranga National Park, Official Calls It First-Of-Its-Kind Clash.

The territory, which was ruled by ST-6, is situated in the middle of Sariska forest and covers the majority of tourist zones. Now, 'Yuvraj' and tigress ST-9 live in this territory. The pair has been spotted in Sariska Sadar gate, Ghanka, Bhandipul, Karna ka bas, Haripura, Bhartari tiwara, Ghadedi and Sahrunda, which was once dominated by the ST-6, Times of India reported. While 'Yuvraj' is three-and-a-half-year-old, ST-6 is 13.

"Tigers by nature have their own territories. It’s a healthy sign that a young tiger has overpowered an old tiger to rule the territory. Entry of young adult males and females every three to five years is required to maintain balanced population growth. Earlier this was missing," Dinesh Verma Durani, founder and general secretary of Sariska Tiger Foundation, was quoted as saying. India’s 2018 Tiger Census Makes It to Guinness Book of World Records for Being Largest Camera Trapping Wildlife Survey.

A couple of years back, ST-4 had made an unsuccessful attempt for a coup to grab the territory from ST-6, once a famous dominant tiger. ST-6 was brought to Sariska during the translocation programme. At present, there are 20 tigers at STR including eleven females, five males and four cubs at Sariska Tiger Reserve which is spread across 1,281 sq-km area and is divided into six ranges.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2020 12:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).