Jaipur, Jan 23 (IANS): A tigress was relocated from Rajasthan's Ranthambore National Park to the Sariska Tiger Reserve, officials said.

The state government had identified two young tigresses of Ranthambore for relocation to Sariska after getting a nod from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NCTA). The other one will also be relocated soon, the officials added.

Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district, around 150 km from here, is home to seven tigers, including two cubs.

The shifting of one more tigress has brought the number to eight, the officials added.

A senior forest department officer told IANS: "The two-year-old tigress named Bina-1 was tranquilized in Ranthambore, taken to Sariska by road and then released into an enclosure in the afternoon today (Tuesday)."

State Forest and Tourism Minister Bina Kak, NTCA director Rajesh Gopal and several experts from the Wildlife Institute of India supervised the relocation.

"The tigress is behaving normal now. We will relocate its sibling named Bina-2 soon," said the officer.

The number of tigers in Ranthambore has increased to 52, including 26 cubs. Four tigers have been killed in territorial fights over the past four years in the park, leaving environmentalists worried since as the tiger population increases, there is also need to create a habitat in which they can thrive.

The officer said that security by armed home guard personnel will be stepped up to ensure safety of the tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve after the relocation.

Two cubs were spotted in Sariska in September last year. Before sighting of the two cubs, the Sariska reserve had five adult tigers, of which three are females and two males.

In 2004-05, the forest department and the Rajasthan government faced all-round criticism over the disappearance of tigers from Sariska.

The Sariska reserve, originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile princely state of Alwar, was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. It got the status of a national park in 1979.