BHUBANESWAR: Three-year-old tigress Zeenat’s 23-day habitat exploration, which finally ended at West Bengal’s Bankura district, has prompted the Odisha government to reevaluate its strategy of relocating big cats to more protected areas (PAs) of the state as part of its larger tiger supplementation programme.
Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia on Thursday said the state government has planned to introduce tigers to Debrigarh and other landscapes. However, steps for translocation of the big cats to these landscapes will be taken only after a thorough assessment of the current situation.
“Considering Zeenat’s exploration and the previous relocation project (taken up in Satkosia), we will study the landscapes, current situation and the movement of the two tigers brought to Similipal before moving further with our plan of relocation in other PAs,” Singhkhuntia said.
The wildlife wing of the Forest department has already prepared a detailed project report to bring at least six tigers from Central India landscape to supplement the big cat population in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) which now has around 27 tigers and 12 cubs.
Similarly, it has planned to introduce three tigers—one male and two females—from the Central India landscape to Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary to develop it into a tiger reserve. The Madhya Pradesh government recently approved the relocation of two big cats from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve for this purpose.
The wildlife wing has also managed to obtain permission from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to resume the relocation project in Satkosia where plans are afoot to bring over a dozen big cats over a period of five years after meeting the conditions laid down by the apex tiger conservation body.
Zeenat fallout: Odisha govt to re-assess tiger relocation plan
However, sources in the forest department said the wildlife wing has decided to reassess its strategy of relocation before moving ahead with the plan to avoid a Zeenat-like scenario which sent the department on a 23-day chase across three states.
Former member secretary of NTCA Anup Kumar Nayak said exploration of territory on part of a relocated tiger is completely normal and authorities should not worry about this. He, however, said adequate caution must be exercised and a thorough study of the landscape conducted before rolling out such programmes.
Wildlife authorities must work on meeting the tiger relocation parameters of The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for big cat translocation projects in the protected areas of the state, the former NTCA chief said.