Bharatpur, July 15 -- Two tigresses from Rajasthan's Ranthambore Tiger Reserve have been missing for over a month, prompting the Forest Department to launch an extensive search operation using camera traps and intensified ground patrols, officials said on Tuesday. According to the Forest Department, tigress RBT-2504 has not been sighted for nearly one-and-a-half months, while RBT-2510 has been missing for around a month.Manas Singh, deputy conservator of forests (DCF), Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, said the increasing tiger population and the resulting territorial conflicts are the primary reasons behind the movement of tigers to new areas. "As the tiger population increases, territorial disputes become more frequent. Weaker or younger tigers and tigresses are often forced to leave their established territories in search of safer habitats," Singh said. Forest officials said RBT-2504 had been involved in repeated territorial clashes with her mother, tigress Riddhi, in an apparent attempt to establish control over her territory. She has not been recorded on camera traps or sighted by patrol teams for nearly six weeks. Meanwhile, RBT-2510, the daughter of tigress T-107, popularly known as Sultana, has also been missing from the reserve for about a month. The DCF said both tigresses were last captured on camera traps during the first week of May. Since then, the department has stepped up surveillance by deploying additional field teams, increasing the number of camera traps and intensifying patrolling across the reserve. Search teams are conducting extensive on-foot patrols to trace pugmarks and other signs of movement in different parts of the forest. Hundreds of additional camera traps have also been installed in an effort to locate the missing tigresses. Officials said there is no evidence so far to suggest poaching or any other untoward incident, and they believe the animals may have shifted to new areas following territorial pressure....