The Madhya Pradesh government has given an “in principle” nod to translocate three pairs of tigers to Odisha’s Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR), an official said on Monday.
The six tigers are likely to be translocated by March-end, as the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE) 2018 is currently under way in the State.
According to the officer, the in-principle approval came after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan agreed to the Odisha government’s request for translocation of the big cats.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Wild Life, Jitendra Agrawal said the STR is left with only one pair of tigers, who have passed their average age. In the last few days, only one of the big cats was captured in cameras in the STR, he said.
Acting on a letter written by the Odisha government, the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA’s) technical committee at a recent meeting approved shifting of the tigers.
Later, the M.P. government also decided to allow the translocation, which would help in increasing the number of the striped cats in the STR.
Mr. Agrawal said the genetic make-up of tigers in STR was similar to that of the Bandhavgarh and Kanha Tiger Reserve in M.P. There has been evidences of a tiger corridor between M.P. and Odisha, he said. “It is expected that the tigers of M.P. would easily adopt new climate of Odisha,” he said. Mr. Agrawal said the officials and employees would be trained in the tiger release protocol.
