BHUBANESWAR: Just three years in Odisha and Sundari's life turned topsy-turvy. From the wilderness of the forests of Bandhavgarh to an enclosure in Satkosia Tiger Reserve of Odisha, the large cat has finally ended up in a Madhya Pradesh zoo and will spend the rest of her life in captivity.
Her hunting skills are intact but the tigress carries too much human imprinting which she acquired during her stay in Satkosia after country's first big cat translocation project failed.
On Wednesday, the Kanha Tiger Reserve where the tigress had been kept in an enclosure after her return from the Raigoda enclosure in Satkosia in March last year, shifted the big cat to Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal.
Their assessment was it would not be safe to release her back to the wild due to her prolonged exposure to 'human imprinting' and 'change in behaviour'.
"Her hunting skills are perfect. During her stay in Ghorela enclosure for rewilding, Sundari preyed on several deer. The problem, however, was the human imprinting and conditional behaviour she developed during her stay in Satkosia enclosure. As the animal still possesses this behaviour, it isn’t advisable to release her to wild conditions," Dr Sandeep Agrawal, wildlife veterinary surgeon in Kanha tiger reserve told The New Indian Express.
Sundari, during her stay in Ghorela enclosure, would come close to the zoo staff expecting feed from them. A tiger in the wild normally doesn't behave this way, Agarwal pointed out. "With such behaviour, released to wild conditions, the tigress may move near human settlements in search of food. Besides, it is stated that she had the tendency to attack humans during her release in Satkosia forests," Dr Agrawal said.
Sundari along with Mahavir, a male, was brought to Satkosia from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve as part of India's first tiger relocation project. Mahavir was translocated on July 6, while Sundari was released in the tiger reserve on August 17 in 2018.
From the wild to confines of zoo, Sundari's life takes a tragic turn
The male tiger, however, was found dead - caught in a poacher's snare - in Satkosia on November 14, 2018, while Sundari was tranquillised and brought back to the holding area in Raigoda after it allegedly attacked local villagers who had ventured into the forest leading to a law and order situation.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in December 2019 suspended the tiger relocation project indefinitely and ordered restoration of the tigress to MP. As the MP Government expressed its 'reluctance' in shifting the tigress, a petition was filed in Madhya Pradesh High Court and in November 2020, the court directed that she be brought back to MP and trained for rewilding.
The tigress was shifted to Kanha Tiger Reserve on March 24 last year and given training for rewilding in Ghorela enclosure thereafter. Meanwhile, Satkosia TR officials have restarted work on creating more inviolate space in the core area to re-approach NTCA in future to revive the tiger relocation project.