After tigress ‘Yamuna’, process begins to bring second big cat from Maharashtra to Similipal

The process to bring another tigress to Similipal Tiger Reserve from Maharashtra in the second phase has already been started.

As per sources, a special team from the wildlife wing of Odisha Forest Department comprising 10 members has visited Maharashtra to translocate another tigress from Tadoba- Andheri Tiger Reserve to Similipal Tiger Reserve. 

The team will stay at Tadoba forest for some days and keep a watch on the tigress. The tigress will be brought to Similipal Tiger Reserve next week.

Earlier, a two-and-a-half-year-old tigress ‘Yamuna’ was brought from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra on October 28. It was released into a soft enclosure of around two hectares in the core area of the Tiger Reserve on the following day. 

The tigress has been put in a quarantine enclosure to acclimatise to the habitat. It has been given prey to hunt in the enclosure. Vigil is being kept on the movement of the tigress by installing CCTV cameras inside the enclosure. The tigress will be released into the wild very soon.

The inter-state translocation project aims to infuse a fresh gene pool in Similipal.

The translocation of the tigress is being done with the permission of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).