RANCHI: While the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) has started counting tigers, the Soft Release Centers (SRC) set up to increase prey base for the big cats, will soon get 200 cheetal for the first time from Betla National Park in January this year.
According to officials, these 200 cheetal will be shifted to three different soft release centers, while another lot of 300 Cheetal and Sambhar will be brought from Bhagwan Birsa Biologial Park (Birsa Zoo) in Ranchi for the remaining SRC.
Notably, Jharkhand forest officials have set up four soft release centers in order to ensure enough food for tigers, which will help in increasing their numbers in the Palamu Tiger Reserve. The soft release centers are those where animals are placed in pre-release cages located close to the location where they will be released.
The PTR Director also informed that they will be shifting 200 cheetal from Betla National Park in the second week of January next year. “Construction of soft release centers has already been completed and we are expecting that three of them will be filled up with 200 cheetal by January next year. The remaining one soft release center will be filled up with 300 more Cheetal and Sambhar shifted from Bhagwan Birsa Biologial Park in Ranchi, requisition for which, has already been sent to the Central Zoo Authority,” said Ashutosh.
A special container with all modern facilities like -- air-condition, drinking water and padded outer-wall for protection of animals, is being prepared at Jabalpur, he added. Meanwhile the PTR officials informed that another tiger, fourth this year, was spotted in PTR recently but it is yet to be confirmed. The PTR officials have also sent the pugmark, scat and the photographs captured in the camera trap to Wildlife Institute in Dehradun.