Angul/Bantala: Amid tension over the alleged mauling of a woman by Sundari, the newly relocated tigress in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, a team of officials from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and NTCA from Dehradun along with local forest officials began monitoring the movement and behavior of the Royal Bengal Tigress.
The team that arrived at Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary Saturday visited various parts and conducted a review on the movement of the tigress and its habitation in Athagarh forest division.
The officials would tranquilise the animal to avoid further killing of cattle. The officials decided to tranquilise the tigress and keep it in an enclosure until further decision about the translocation was taken by the state government.
First, the officials visited Hatibari village under Tikarpada forest range in Satkosia where a woman was allegedly killed by Sundari September 13. The team talked to the locals and tried to gather evidence on the alleged attack. They also took stock of the situation at the forest range office and the beat house which was torched by irate locals following the woman’s death.
The team, during its stay, will study the two-year-old tigress to find out whether her aggression is due to absence of a male partner. It is also collecting history of the tigress related to her mode of hunting during her stay at the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh from where she was related to Satkosia.
Taking the data into consideration, the team will then take a decision on whether to keep the tigress in Satkosia or relocate it to some other sanctuary.
Meanwhile, to avoid any untoward incident and provide security to locals, the forest department has deployed two monitoring teams comprising 10-member field staffers and police personnel in the area.
As the exact reason behind the alleged attack is yet to be ascertained, the forest department is waiting for the post-mortem report of the woman.
Meanwhile, the National Tiger Conservation Authority has sought a reply from the Chief Wildlife Warden on the incident.
PNN
