RANTHAMBORE Ustad (T-24)
Ustad (T-24) was one of the largest males Ranthambore has known and its most controversial: held responsible for the death of a forest guard in May 2015, he was moved to Sajjangarh Biological Park near Udaipur, where he died on 28 December 2022.
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In one line: Ustad (T-24) was one of the largest males Ranthambore has known and its most controversial: held responsible for the death of a forest guard in May 2015, he was moved to Sajjangarh Biological Park near Udaipur, where he died on 28 December 2022.
| T-number | T-24 |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | c. 2005–06 |
| Died | 28 December 2022, in captivity, aged about 17 |
| Parents | Not documented here |
| Cubs | Not documented here |
| Historical range | The area around the park entrance and Ranthambore Fort road, until 2015 |
| Status | Moved to Sajjangarh Biological Park, Udaipur, in May 2015; died there in 2022 |
Identification and T-number follow the Rajasthan Forest Department’s numbering as reported by guides and the press. “Historical range” is where this tiger has been documented, not where any tiger is today. Content checked 4 November 2026.
Ustad’s life, with sources
- c. 2005–06 Born in Ranthambore; grew into one of the biggest and most photographed males in the park, ranging near the entrance road and the fort. [Wikipedia (T-24)]
- 8 May 2015 Forest guard Rampal Saini was killed near the park entrance; the Forest Department held T-24 responsible. Whether T-24 was the tiger involved was disputed at the time. [Mongabay, Jun 2015]
- 16 May 2015 Tranquilised and moved by road to Sajjangarh Biological Park, Udaipur. Petitions against the move followed; the Rajasthan High Court upheld it later that month. [Down To Earth, 2015]
- 28 Dec 2022 Died at Sajjangarh, aged about 17, after years in captivity; the cause was reported as bone cancer. [Wikipedia (T-24)]
Each entry names its source; the full list is at the foot of the page. Where accounts differ (dates of the crocodile fight, the cause of an illness) we say so rather than pick one.
Where visitors looked for Ustad
Historically: no safari zone today. The area around the park entrance and Ranthambore Fort road, until 2015. No zone guarantees a sighting and we do not publish where any tiger is on a given day; before your date we tell you what our drivers have seen that week.
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Machli (T-16) · Krishna (T-19) · Arrowhead (T-84) · Riddhi (T-124) · Noor (T-39)
Questions about Ustad
Why was Ustad removed from Ranthambore?
After the death of a forest guard on 8 May 2015, the fourth human death the Forest Department linked to him, he was declared a danger and moved to a zoo in Udaipur. Conservationists and photographers contested both the identification and the decision; the courts allowed the move to stand.
Can I see Ustad?
No. He died in captivity at Sajjangarh Biological Park on 28 December 2022.
Dated sightings archive
Verified entries for Ustad from our sightings archive: dated, zone-level, sourced. Not a live position.
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Sources and how we know
Tiger names, T-numbers and family lines follow the Forest Department’s identification as reported by the park’s guides and in the press. Where we describe where a tiger has been seen, it is our drivers’ and guides’ experience from recent seasons, not a statement of where that tiger is today: territories shift every season and no zone can promise a sighting.
- Background T-24 (tiger): Wikipedia (background)
- Press “A roar in captivity”, Down To Earth, 2015 (the T-24 relocation)
- Press “Social media firestorm defends popular man-eating tiger in India”, Mongabay, June 2015
- Official Rajasthan Forest Department
- Official National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Government of India
- Research Status of Tigers in India 2022: summary report (NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India)
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