The Invisible Tigers Of Odisha!

Can we get back our tigers? It is very unlikely since the big cat population has plunged below the viability level.

The Invisible Tigers Of Odisha!

In 2007, a press conference was hurriedly convened by the Wildlife Wing of Odisha forest department at a posh Bhubaneswar hotel to explain the “misconception” that Odisha had lost a huge number of tigers in Similipal Tiger Reserve. Mediapersons were curious as never in the history of the reclusive Wildlife Wing was a press meet held before.

The camera trap based tiger census in Similipal conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India – National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had exposed one of the worst kept secrets of Odisha. For two days, the tiger disaster was the main news in most national TV channels and print media. The screaming headlines embarrassed Naveen Patnaik government, and the Babus scurried for cover as the CM had to fend off questions about the lost tigers!