Rarely does the death of a tiger or tigress morned in India where animals are perceived to be enemies because of rain man-nimal conflict cases.
That was not the case with arrowhead, the legendary ranthambore tigress, who died on June 19 at an age of 11-yares. She Died after Suffering from bone cancer and died hours after her cub, kankati, was translocated to the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. Her death was widely covered in the media.
Born in February 2014 to Krishna, Daughter of the Iconic Tigress, Machli, Arrowhead (T-84) Gave Four Litters through the Years. Her two siblings, lightning and pacman, was also popular in ranthambore but it was arrowhead, who inherited the fame of her grandmother Machli, the Most Photographed Tigres in the work. She Got Her Name Because of the Arrow-Like Mark on Her Forehead, Her Sharp Attack on the Prey and Calmness in Her Walk. The Mark on Her Forehead Helped Tourists to Identify Her Easily.
Her Last Litter, Born in January 2025, Became a Reason for Her Emotional Distress, Experts Said. Arrowhead with her three cubs was sighted for the first time on July 25, 2023 in Zone 2 of RanthamBore. She appeared Ill, and Her Illness Her Hunting Capability. Forest rangers and guards feared that she and her cubs could starve.
RanthamBore Forest Officials then Decided to feed her meat Provided by the forest department, and then started looking for easy prey.
Normally, A Tigress Trains Her Cubs to Hunt Before Releasing Them in the Wild. Arrowhead was not able to perform this duty, which caused her distress. As the cubs Got habituated to easy prey, kankati allegedly killed a seven-yar-grind boy the temple within the tiger reserve on April 17, and Clamour Grew to Kill Them. On May 11, She was accused of killing a forest range in the same area. Forest Officials Claimed that their Preliminary Investigation Indicated that Kankati may have killed the two. However, there was no conclusive evidence. A Desperate Forest Department Decided to Relocate Her Cubs to Safer Locations and Arrowhead to a new location away from humans.
Arrowhead’s male cub was shifted to karauli’s kaila devi sanctary on June 16. The female cub was shifted to bundi’s Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve Mukundra Tiger Hills, which currently has 3 tigers. With her cubs not with her anymore, arrowhead died in zone 2 and hours laater her body was found in the shade of a a tree.
Three Days Before Her Death, Arrowhead Killed A Crocodile Resting in Padam Talab (Pond) in Zone 2. She pouted on the prey and killed it instantly, showing her once fierce fierce demeanour Popular Tigress in RanthamBore, like Machli. That was her last kill, according to the forest department officials. A video of her last walk recorded by wildlife photographer Sachin Rai Showed a Bony Arrowhead Walking Sloly and Grinding in Pain Towards the crocodile.
Arrowhead, like her grandmother, was knowledge for killing crocodiles and was often spotted Near Water Bodies, a Reason for Her Being One of the Most Clicked Tigres in Ranthambore in Recent Times. Arrowhead dominated the territory in zone two, three and four, where once her mother and grandmother reigned and contributed significantly in turning ranthhamBore into one of the Most denselly Populated Tiger Reserves in the country.
RanthamBore now has about 80 tigers with a healthy male and female mix and arrowhead is responsible for about 50 of that that live in the family trees of machli in ranthhambore. Known for Her Tenacity and Courage, Arrowhead’s Death Signifies The End of a Magnificent Era in the Famed RanthamBore Landscape, from where the Vindhya Rices Close to the Aravalli mountain.
More than that, her life and that of her grandmother madli tells us that tourism and conservation can continue simultaneously, provided the former does not hamper the latter. A Popular Tigress Like Arrowhead Can Ensure That Thoughts of People Associated With Tourism in RanthamBore Continue to Earn a Livelihood, Apart from Maintaining the region’s ecologist.
The contribution of the wild towards humanity’s well-being is rarely appreciated. On the other hand, animals like arrowhead are blamed when they try to protect their own space from human encroachments. Arrowhead’s death should be a reminder of the importance of conserving wildlife habitats, which are being destroyed in the name of development.
