India’s oldest tigress, renowned for birthing numerous cubs and credited with revitalising the once-barren Sariska tiger reserve in Rajasthan, passed away at 19 due to injuries and illness. Known as Rajmata or ST-2, she died in captivity after three months of medical treatment. Wildlife doctors confirmed her death, attributing it to injuries on her tail.
ST-2, daughter of the famous tigress Machli from Ranthambore, played a crucial role in repopulating the Sariska Tiger Reserve after it faced complete extinction of big cats due to rampant poaching.
After suffering an injury, she was being monitored by a committee of doctors. “She was declared dead in her enclosure at 5pm. After no movement was recorded since morning, a team of officials entered the enclosure and checked her thoroughly to find out she was no more. The post-mortem will be conducted by the medical board," according to an official statement released by the reserve.
India’s Sariska National Park has had a troubled history of preserving its tiger population in the face of a notorious local challenge of poachers who trap the animals and use their body parts for illegal sale. In 2004, officials combed every swathe of the park but could not find even a single tiger and confirmed that poaching had eliminated all the big cats in the region.