The sanctuary spread over 963.87 sq.km is home to 24,096 herbivorous animals
Bantala: The Satkosia Tiger Reserve Project has no dearth of food for four more Royal Bengal Tigers (RBTs) that are to be relocated from Madhya Pradesh, officials said Tuesday.
Spread over 963.87 sq.km of area constituting the forested areas of Satkosia Gorge sanctuary and Baisipalli sanctuary, the tiger reserve project is managed by Satkosia wildlife division and Mahanadi wildlife division. Satkosia is home to 24,096 herbivorous animals.
According to a joint survey carried out by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) there are over 25 herbivorous animals per sq.km of the tiger project which will help in availability of food for the animals.
There are 13,250 herbivorous animals in the Satkosia wildlife division which is spread over 530.01 sq.km area. These include sambhar, deer, barking deer, wild boar, Indian Bison, monkey, wild dogs (Balia), Chausinga and ‘Gurandi’.
Similarly, the adjoining Mahanadi wildlife division, which is spread over 433.86 sq. km, has 10,846 herbivorous animals. There is more than enough food needed for the survival of the tigers. Acting on the survey report, steps are being taken to increase the tiger population in the project.
The four tigers will be brought in addition to two tigers brought earlier from Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Parks in Madhya Pradesh, said additional principal chief conservator of forests and field director, Satkosia, Dr Sudarshan Panda here.
Apart from food, sufficient dense forest and security provisions in the project area will help in free movement and survival of the tigers.
Moreover, Raiguda village in the core area of the sanctuary has been relocated while there are no villages within 10-km radius from the place. This will help in making the project area more habitable for the tigers.
Earlier, the project authorities had separated 104 villages from the sanctuary while an additional 359.79 sq.km of area in 10 reserve forests of Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack and Boudh districts will be merged with the project.
The tiger brought from Kanha National Park was released into the wild from its enclosure July 7. The big cat has hunted three animals within 11 days of its release, the officer said. Similarly, the tigress which is now in an enclosure has hunted four animals and will be soon released into the wild, he added.
PNN
