Sambalpur: The Odisha government’s proposal to declare Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve has been approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Sources said the proposal for declaring Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding forests as a tiger reserve was approved at the NTCA’s technical committee meeting held recently.
An official notification in this regard is likely to be issued soon by the state government.
Debrigarh will become the third tiger reserve in Odisha after Similipal and Satkosia.
It may be noted here that the proposal to declare Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve was forwarded by the state government in 2018.
The prospects of giving a tiger reserve tag to the sanctuary brightened after tourists spotted a Royal Bengal Tiger in the area in December 2022.
Debrigarh, which is also among the largest bat habitats in the world, is spread over an area of 804.51 sq km and has a plenty of prey animals for tigers and other carnivorous animals.
A wide varieties of animals including leopard, wild boar, bison, sambar, chital and chowsingha are sighted in the sanctuary.
