BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to bring two tigers from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra to supplement the big cat population in Similipal.
Sources said a team comprising field director of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) Prakash Chandra Gogineni and other forest officials has already left for TATR in this connection.
To support the translocation and supplementation project, the Forest department has also sent a separate team of frontline staff and officials from Similipal to undergo training at Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in Maharashtra.
“TATR in the Central India landscape has been selected for the tiger supplementation project. However, no timeline has been finalised for the translocation,” said PCCF Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden Susanta Nanda. Different teams are visiting Maharashtra for discussion on the project, identification of the tigers and their translocation, he added.
Sources said TATR has been chosen for the supplementation programme as tigers from this landscape are said to have some genetic similarities with the big cats of Similipal which may help in improving the genetic diversity of the closed population in STR.
At present, STR has around 27 tigers and 12 cubs. Though it has a unique population of melanistic tigers, in-breeding and a closed population with almost no migratory flow in or out have emerged as a looming threat for the striped predators in the protected area that has no nearby breeding source population of the big cats.
Accordingly, the department had sought permission from the NTCA to introduce two female tigers from other landscapes to improve genetic diversity of STR.
The initial timeline for implementation of tiger supplementation programme was October 31. However, a senior forest official said it could take more time because of the planning and preparations involved.
A six-member team of forest field staff has been sent to NNTR for a short-term training ahead of the relocation programme. The team comprising forest staff of Similipal South and North divisions and a GIS expert will undergo training on different aspects of relocation including radio-collar tracking, he said.
“The training is essential as the tigers which will be brought from the Central India landscape, are likely to be radio-collared to track their movement initially,” the forest officer added.