Bhubaneswar: As many as 15 tigers will be brought to Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha from Maharashtra.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given its nod to a proposal for translocation of 15 tigers, including both male and female, to Satkosia from Maharashtra, said the wildlife wing of Forest department in Odisha.

The big cats will be brought to Odisha from tiger reserves in Maharashtra under the Interstate Tiger Translocation Project.

The NTCA has laid as many as 15 conditions for the translocation of tigers. The tigers will be brought to Satkosia after the relocation of existing human settlements from the tiger reserve.

Two tigers, a male and a female, were brought to Satkosia from Madhya Pradesh as part India’s first Interstate Tiger Translocation project in June, 2018.

A tiger named Mahaveer was brought to Satkosia from Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh on June 22, 2018. Similarly, a tigress named Sundari was brought to Satkosia from Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh on June 29, 2018.

Tiger Mahaveer was released to the forest on July 6 while tigress Sundari was released to the wild on August 17, 2018.

The carcass of tiger Mahaveer was found in Satkosia on November 14, 2018 while tigress Sundari was sent back to Madhya Pradesh after it strayed into human settlements quite a few times and killed several cattle heads.

Following this, the Interstate Tiger Translocation project was suspended by the NTCA.