Angul: Satkosia Tiger Reserve may soon be devoid of tigers. After the failure of the state government’s ambitious tiger translocation project, the lone surviving tigress is counting days due to old age related ailments.
With the population of the big cats dwindling fast, the Odisha government had launched tiger translocation programme in consultation with Madhya Pradesh. The MP government had agreed to provide three pairs of tigers for the country’s first inter-state tiger relocation project.
Odisha government had planned to relocate the wild animals in Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR). After one pair arrived in 2018, they were released in the dense forest of the STR.
But four months after their release, gross mismanagement of the project led to death of the male tiger who fell victim to poachers’ trap.
Meanwhile, there were reports of the tigress intruding into human habitations and attacking the people. As the locals protested the tiger relocation project and the questions were raised about its management, the tigress was confined to an enclosure drawing the ire of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The NTCA not only suspended the repopulation project but also ordered the return of the tigress back to Madhya Pradesh. While the NTCA has started the process of return of the tigress back to MP within a month, Regional Chief Conservator of Forests Pradip Karat said they were yet to get any official order in this regard.
Meanwhile, the tigress which was born in Satkosia forest has turned old. While there is fungal infection in its tail, the wild cat has started shedding hair.
Karat said a special team of veterinarians will take up the treatment of the ailing tigress after it is tranquilised.
The old tigress may get cured by the special team for now. But, it will ultimately meet the end and then, the reserve will turn tigerless.
According to the 2018 census report, the total tiger population in the country showed a 30 per cent rise with an increase from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in 2014 while the number of tigers in Odisha has declined from 32 to 28 and the number has remained the same in 2018.
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh To Take Back Tigress Sundari From Odisha In A Month: NTCA
