As the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has suspended the tiger translocation programme in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve, the State Government would return a female big cat named ‘Sundari’ to Madhya Pradesh, from where she was brought in June last year, officials said.
The tigress was kept in a restricted open enclosure after she had allegedly killed two persons in the tiger reserve area in Angul district. The NTCA had objected to it, saying that the tigress cannot be allowed to be kept in a small enclosure.
In a letter to the State’s Chief Secretary, the NTCA had said that in the interest of tiger conservation, the tigress shall be withdrawn and brought to the Ghorela Centre at Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh with immediate effect for re-wilding and subsequent release to a suitable habitat.
Odisha Chief Wildlife Warden Hari Shankar Upadhyay has told reporters, “We have written to the Madhya Pradesh Government to take back the tigress in view of the NTCA’s directive.”
Upadhyay said the Madhya Pradesh Government would make arrangements to shift the tigress.
Notably, a male tiger, which had been brought from Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly poached inside the Satkosia Tiger Reserve. The NTCA had informed the Odisha Government that the tiger translocation programme at the Satkosia Tiger Reserve would remain suspended till the ground situation improves.