Bhubaneswar: After much hue and cry, the state government Monday decided to shift the Royal Bengal tigress Sundari from Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Angul to Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) here.
However, if the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) does not agree to the decision, she will be sent back to Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh from where she was brought, said Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray here Monday.
Calling Sundari an elusive tigress, Routray said a team of experts from Madhya Pradesh reached Satkosia Monday to take stock of the situation. The team will help in getting the tigress tranquilised following which she will be kept inside an enclosure. “As tiger is a very sensible animal, she knows that she is being monitored so she is acting accordingly. Efforts are on to capture the tigress. After being tranquilised, she will be sent to Nandankanan’s tiger safari because we cannot put people’s life at risk,” he added.
“If the NTCA disapproves the proposal of the state government, then we will make arrangements to send her back to Bandhavgarh. However, no final decision has been taken so far,” the minister stated.
Meanwhile, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) wildlife Sandeep Tripathi said the tigress has moved out of the sanctuary and was found roaming in the nearby Asanabahal village. To track the movement of the tigress, two special teams from Kanha National Park and Pench Tiger Reserve from Madhya Pradesh have left for the location where she was sighted by some villagers, Tripathi said.
Asked about headless carcass of a carnivorous animal recovered from Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Bargarh district, the PCCF said that it was of a leopard not of the Royal Bengal tigress.
The postmortem revealed that the carcass was of a leopard of around 20 days, he said, adding the sample of the carcass has been sent to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradun and forensic science laboratory in Bengaluru to ascertain the cause of the death of the leopard.
Commenting on the issue, the minister said preliminary report states that parts of nails and teeth of the leopard was missing. “After forensic test it could be clear if it had been shot dead or electrocuted. It is suspected that the animal got electrocuted to death coming in contact with an electric wire laid for killing wild boars,” he added.
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