
Tiger Code | T-24 |
First Seen | 2005 |
Gender | Male |
Identification Sign | – |
Age | 15 years |
Zone | Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 6 |
Status | Live In Zoo Sajjangarh |
Majestic and intrepid, Ustad came into the limelight when he killed a veteran forest guard, Rampal Saini, on the doomed day of May 8, 2015. A very brave forest guard, Rampal lived fearlessly amidst tigers, but, seeing the menacing ways and changing the behavior of T24 over the past few years, even he felt nervous and scared sometimes, claimed his family.
On May 8, sighting Ustad at a water body near the 4 km Ranthambore Fort road that is frequented by many devotees visiting the Ganesha Temple inside the reserve premises, when Rampal went to look for him, he was mauled to death by the ferocious tiger.
This was not the first reported attack of Ustad; he had earlier also been charged with killing two villagers in July 2010 and March 2012 respectively, and another forest guard in October 2012.
Tigers are usually shy of humans and avoid confrontation with them unless harmed but, the case of T24 was a bit different. As per the villagers residing in the vicinity of the Tiger Reserve, Ustad had grown violent and aggressive over the past few years.