Royal Bengal Tiger Spotted In Odisha’s Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary For 2nd Time

Bargarh: A Royal Bengal Tiger has been spotted in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary of Odisha’s Bargarh district for second time in the last 3 months.

According to sources, the tiger was captured in the cameras installed at the sanctuary. A tiger was spotted by a group of tourists in the sanctuary in December last year.

An official of the Forest department said it is for second time that the tiger has been found in the forest areas of the sanctuary. Apparently, the tiger has been visiting from neighbouring Chhattisgarh in search of animals to hunt.

“The tiger, which was spotted a few days back, is still in the sanctuary area. We have installed more cameras to capture its movement. Besides, an additional squad has been deployed to keep a track of it,” said the official.

It may be noted that the state government had proposed to declare Debrigarh as a tiger reserve in 2018 and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given its approval to the proposal.

The Forest department has initiated the process for the tiger reserves, the sources said. Debrigarh will be the third tiger reserve of Odisha after Similipal and Satkosia.

Spread over 804.51 sq km area, Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is inhabited by several wild animals including bison, sambar, Chital, Chowsingha, wild boar and leopard.