The Odisha Government has claimed that the State houses more than 60 Royal Bengal Tigers (RBTs) and several measures have been taken to maintain their habitation.
Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray on Saturday said the big cats were spotted at three new places in the State for the first time.
“As per the pug marks captured by cameras, we believe there are more than 60
Royal Bengal Tigers residing in the State. It is a good sign,” Routray said. He further informed that the Royal Bengal Tigers were spotted in three new places —in Muniguda of Koraput, the Hemgiri forest in Sundargarh district and the Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Sambalpur district.
“Our forests have huge potentials; and the population of Royal Bengal Tigers would definitely increase in future,” the Minister claimed.
Earlier in February, 2017, the State Government had claimed that as many as 40 Royal Bengal Tigers and 318 leopards were present in the State.
However, the report of National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) estimation done in 2014 had claimed that there were only 28 big cats in Odisha.
