Tiger translocation project to continue in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The inter-state tiger translocation project, which was temporarily suspended in Odisha following the death of Royal Bengal Tiger ‘Mahabir’ at Satkosia forest, will continue in the State.

The tiger translocation project will resume after meeting with the State government and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), informed National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) IG Amit Mallick to the media her after he returned from Satkosia.

Mallick had visited Satkosia to probe into the death of Mahabir, the first RBT brought to Odisha from Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh under the inter-state tiger translocation programme in June.

A team comprising Mallick and WII expert visited the spot where Mahabir was found dead on November 14.

The carcass of the big cat was found in Raiguda range on Hindol-Narsinghpur border with wound marks on its neck on Wednesday.

The preliminary report indicated that the tiger died due to an infected wound in the dorsal neck region.

However, the post-mortem report of the tiger is awaited to know the exact cause behind the death.

The expert team during their visit also observed the health condition of Royal Bengal tigress ‘Sundari’, which is currently kept in the enclosure after allegedly killing two persons near Satkosia forest area.