More than a couple of months after the tranquilisation of Royal Bengal Tigress Sundari, the Forest Department has decided that two trained elephants would guard the big cat.
Elephants Mahendra and Rajkumar are being brought from Similipal to Satkosia for the purpose, reports said.
“No decision for Sundari’s release from enclosure has been taken yet. The two elephants are being brought to Satkosia from Similipal for general security as per the NTCA protocol,” said PCCF (Wildlife), Sandip Tripathy.
There was a dispute earlier over relocation of the elephants as the locals of Similipal opposed it. However, the issue was resolved by the Forest Department after holding talks with the villagers.
Notably, the tigress has been relocated from Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve to the Satkosia wildlife sanctuary in Angul district on June 28 last year as part of a pilot inter-State transfer project to increase the big cat population in Odisha. Sundari was tranquilised on November 6 last after it allegedly killed an elderly man on October 21 last year at Tainsi village under the Satkosia Forest Division.