First extant record of Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris) in Dibang valley of Arunachal Pradesh, India with a note on translocation using Xylazine and ketamine anaesthetics

Abstract

This paper represents the first documentation of Bengal tiger and challenges encountered during chemical immobilization and translocation of two Bengal tiger cubs in Dibang Valley district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Two darts of 2 ml volume each were prepared for both the cubs with chemical immobilization drugs viz., xylazine hydrochloride and ketamine hydrochloride at the dose rate of 1.5 mg/kg body weight (Total dose 50 mg or 0.5 ml) and 5 mg/kg body weight (Total dose 150 mg or 1.5 ml) respectively. The cubs were anaesthetised after 20 and 27 minutes of dart injections respectively. Cubs were carefully shifted to the iron cage. The recovery of the cubs was uneventful. This rescue operation confirmed the distribution of Bengal tiger in the hilly snowfall area of Arunachal Pradesh, India.