An operation to capture tigress Sundari and release it into the deep forest was scheduled to begin on Wednesday night in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Angul district.
Sources said four teams have reached the area to track the movement of the royal Bengal tigress. Officials and experts from the Forest Department, the Satkosia Tiger Reserve and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have been pressed into service to track down Sundari and plan her relocation.
The speculations to send back Sundari to Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh National Park have been nipped in the bud after Forest Department officials informed that the current operation only aims to drive Sundari deep into the forest and away from human habitations.
Sources said the process was underway by the Forest Department to trap the tigress. Various methods like use of tranquilisers and placing cages and traps might be used to send Sundari into deep forest.
Earlier, citing the rising controversies over the Royal Bengal Tigress, the State Government on September 21 shunted out Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary DFO SMT Rehman.
However, the locals are up in arms against the tigress and stick to their stand that it should be sent back to Madhya Pradesh as they are facing threats to their life and their livelihoods have been affected.
In fact, Sundari went on a killing spree of cattle under the Athmallik Forest Range in the district.
Before that, she had allegedly mauled a woman to death at Hatibari village near the Satkosia Tiger Reserve on September 12, following which the locals had gone a rampage and torched several Forest Department beat houses and boats.