Bengal Tigress Sundari To Be Shifted To Nandankanan: Minister

Bhubaneswar: After remaining tight-lipped for nearly one and half months, the Odisha government has finally decided to shift Royal Bengal tigress Sundari from Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.

Talking to mediapersons here on Monday, Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray said the Bengal tigress will be kept inside the enclosure after it is tranquilized by the expert teams, who are now at Satkosia. “Efforts are on to capture the elusive tigress that had killed two persons in the sanctuary,” he added.

Asked what step the state government will take if the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) decides against it, he said the tigress will then be sent back to Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh from where she was brought. “But no such decision has been taken as yet,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Sandip Tripathy on Monday informed the media that the Bengal tigress has moved out of the sanctuary and found roaming in the nearby Asanabahal village.

To track the movement of the tigress, two specialist teams from Kanha National Park and Pench Tiger Reserve from Madhya Pradesh have left for the location where she was sighted by some villagers.