BHUBANESWAR: Amid reports of alleged leopard poaching, as many as five villages in Satkosia Tiger Reserve area have sought voluntary relocation paving way for forest officials to create more inviolate space and reduce biotic stress in the habitat to make it more suitable for big cat reintroduction.
The Satkosia Wildlife Division has received application in this regard from Tikarpada, Gopalpur, Purunakot, Chhotkei and Tulka within Purunakot range, said Satkosia DFO Saroj Kumar Panda. Both Gopalpur and Purnakot along Angul-Tikarpada will help in creation of a much bigger inviolate space. However, Tulka and Chhotkei hold more significance in preventing human interference and reducing biotic stress, the DFO said.
Besides, he said village relocation process for Asanbahal is already in place, while steps are also being taken for shifting of households from Salor in the Satkosia division. Vacating these lands is expected to create a much bigger inviolate area than Katrang where relocation of 120 families has helped Satkosia in creating an additional 500-hectare inviolate space. The DFO said around 1,200 families are living in these villages.
“The voluntary relocation will surely help us reconsider the tiger introduction programme in Satkosia, the second largest big cat habitat in Odisha,” Panda said. Honorary Wildlife Warden for Angul Aditya Chandra Panda said the relocation of Tulka and Chhotkei will help create a significant chunk of inviolate habitat in the eastern core of Satkosia which in turn will provide a big boost to big cat conservation in the Tiger Reserve.
Previously, the administration had also relocated families from Raiguda creating a large undisturbed patch in the Satkosia core, he said. “If these villages are relocated the habitat required for tiger conservation in Satkosia will even grow larger,” Panda said.