BHUBANESWAR: With the two translocated tigers settling down at Similipal landscape, Odisha’s big cat conservation looks with renewed hope in newer habitats of the state.
Chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha on Monday said the state is optimistic about continuing with its tiger supplementation programme in Similipal and relocation programmes in other landscapes. It may take a little more time though, he said.
Zeenat and Jamuna, relocated from Tadoba landscape of Maharashtra, have begun to settle in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) and their steady acclimatisation marks a significant step forward in the state’s efforts to revive population of the big cats.
“Zeenat is slowly adapting to the new habitat and showing signs of pregnancy. Similarly, Jamuna is trying to establish territory in Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary. Though it would be too early to measure the success of their relocation, their presence in Similipal now sparks optimism about Odisha’s ambitious tiger conservation plan,” Jha told this newspaper.
The state Forest department had submitted a detailed project report to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to bring six tigers to Similipal under the tiger supplementation project, while it planned to introduce three tigers - one male and two females - to Debrigarh sanctuary from the Central India landscape.
The department also expedited village relocation programme in Satkosia Tiger Reserve and started complying with the 15 conditions of NTCA to reintroduce big cats in the landscape where tigers have gone locally extinct.
The chief wildlife warden said states including Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have agreed to allow relocation of tigers from their landscape to Similipal and other habitats. “We are also in the process of developing Debrigarh as a tiger reserve and have formed an expert committee for delineation of the core and buffer zones of the proposed TR,” he said.
The proposed tiger reserve in Bargarh district spans 804.51 sq km, including 353.81 sq km of core area - the entire Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary. The NTCA gave its in-principle approval for the proposed TR in 2023.
Former member secretary of NTCA and head of the expert committee Anup Kumar Nayak said Odisha holds significant potential to revive big cat population. He, however, called for different strategies for different landscapes to materialise it.
“As we move with our tiger supplementation and relocation programme, we need to work on eliminating factors that led to decline in tiger population in the state and their extinction from different landscapes. Subsistence poaching and bush meat hunting needs to be dealt strongly apart from strengthening protection measures,” Nayak said.
After failure of the first big cat relocation project in Satkosia Tiger Reserve in 2018, the translocation programme in Odisha remained suspended for nearly five years.
However, with sustained conservation efforts, the state government convinced NTCA in 2024 to resume the relocation programme but at a different landscape with a different purpose this time.