Bhubaneswar: At least five tigers will be translocated to Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary and Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha from other states by October this year.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have given their consent to a proposal in this regard.

Three tigers, one male and two female, will be translocated to Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Sambalpur district from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, revealed the wildlife wing of the Forest Department in Odisha today.

Notably, a tiger from a forest in neighbouring Chhattisgarh had migrated to Debrigarh a few years ago.

Last year, the NTCA had given its approval to a proposal of the Odisha government to declare Debrigarh as a tiger reserve.

According to the Forest Department, two tigresses from central Indian landscape, preferably from Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra, will be translocated to Similipal.

A few months ago, the Forest Department had revealed that Odisha is home to 30 adult tigers and eight cubs. The department made this revelation after conducting the All Odisha Tiger Estimation 2023-24.

According to the census data, Similipal has 27 adult tigers (14 females and 13 males) and eight cubs.