BHUBANESWAR: The Madhya Pradesh government has given its approval for relocation of a pair of tigers, a male and a female, to Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Bargarh district from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.
PCCF Wildlife Prem Kumar Jha said in-principle approval for relocation of the big cats to Debrigarh has already been received from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). Following the nod, a team of wildlife officials from the state visited Bandhavgarh in October to hold preliminary talks in this regard and proceed with the project. Steps are being taken for its execution in near future, he said.
Wildlife officials said as Madhya Pradesh is a tiger surplus state, there won’t be any problem in bringing the big cats from its landscape. The Forest department has planned to bring three big cats - one male and two females - to Debrigarh sanctuary from the Central India landscape to develop it into a tiger reserve. The department received permission from the NTCA in this regard in January, with the initial timeline for execution of the project being fixed for August 31.
Sources in the wildlife wing, however, said keeping in view the relocation of two tigress to Similipal from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, they will carefully study the situation before going ahead with the translocation plan to ensure that the project, intended at reviving big cat population in the state, doesn’t result in any kind of conflict in the region.