RANCHI: In a significant achievement, the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) has confirmed the presence of a tigress in the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR).
The Centre’s confirmation came on the basis of a scat of the suspected tigress sent to it. PTR officials have now issued a high alert in the reserve to locate the tigress.
According to PTR Director Kumar Ashutosh, “It is believed that the tigress has migrated to PTR to breed as a suitable atmosphere has been created for the big cats. A tigress gives birth to at least four to six cubs at a time and so, the number of tigers in PTR is expected to increase further in the coming days.”
Scat samples were recovered from the Chatra jungles also, suggesting the same tigress was roaming in jungles adjacent to PTR as well. The samples were also sent to CCMB and the confirmation came in the second week of December.
With the presence of one more tigress, the count of big cats in PTR goes up to 5 as four tigers are already present there, he added.
When asked about the ongoing efforts to relocate two tigresses and one tiger from another reserve to retain the four tigers already present in Palamu, Kumar Ashutosh said that exercise is on hold for the time being.
“There is always a possibility of the big cats running away if relocated from some other reserve. This tigress has been found naturally in PTR, so it has more chances of staying in this habitat only. Therefore, there is no need to relocate other big cats as of now,” he said.
Meanwhile, PTR is ensuring a prey base for the big cats by setting up Soft Release Centres (SRC) to ensure that there is enough food for the animals. In these centres, prey animals are placed in pre-release cages close to where they will be released.
Same tigress roaming in jungles: Scat samples
Scat samples were recovered from the Chatra jungles, suggesting the same tigress was roaming in jungles adjacent to PTR as well. The samples were also sent to CCMB and the confirmation came in December. When asked about the efforts to relocate two tigresses and one tiger from another reserve to retain the four tigers already present in Palamu, Kumar Ashutosh said that exercise is on hold.