India's “Tiger Queen”— the legendary Machli (T-16) from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve — is no more. Considered the world's oldest big cat in the wild at 19, she died on Thursday morning. Her body was consigned to flames in an elaborate funeral at Aamaghati, with large number of officials from the forest department, district administration and wildlife lovers present there to pay their respect.
According to officials, she was in a semi-conscious state since the past four days and barely consumed four kilograms of meat during this period.
Sunny Shah, landscape Coordinator, Ranthambore from World Wildlife Fund - India, said Machli had mothered nearly a dozen cubs over a period of 16 years, contributing to nearly 60 per cent of the population in Ranthambore and Sariska. Some of the tigers reintroduced at Sariska also belonged to her lineage. Her survival till the age of 19 is remarkable considering the average life span of a tiger is between 10-15 years in the wild.
Born in 1979, she inherited the name “Machli” from her iconic mother, who had a fish like mark on her face. But even the daughter had a fork like mark on her forehead and defended her traditional territory in the Rajbagh area, located in the centre of the reserve. The area that has remains of the summer palace of the erstwhile royal families, was also Machli's domain upto 2011.
Machli was a tourist's delight. Over the years, she became one of the most photographed animals, drawing thousands of visitors to the reserves and brining in crores of rupees in terms of annual revenue through tourism to the park.
Her tales of valour are also well-known. Sunny recalls her gallant fight as the first ever tigress against a 12 feet crocodile that was edging towards her cubs. The battle nearly lasted for an hour when she ripped apart the predator. This left a mark in the annals of the natural history of wild tigers.
She was also the inspiration to numerous wildlife film makers across the world. Documentaries as “Tiger Queen” by National Geographic are well known. The Indian Government issued a postage stamp in her honour in 2013.
Age began taking toll on her after she crossed 12. Her canines got worn out and one of them was broken too. She handed her prime territory to her daughters, while she moved many kilometres away to lead the last years of her life.
As per the latest figures of All India Tiger Estimation, Ranthambore has about 35-40 tigers.
