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Odisha Celebrates Int’l Tiger Day

Bhubaneswar: Today is International Tiger Day. Every year on July 29, International Tiger Day is celebrated to highlight the importance of tiger conservation across the globe.

Susanta Nanda, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) has posted series of Tiger related items in his X Platform, while celebrating the International Day for Tigers.

Most interesting is “Tigers are roaring back in Simlipal Tiger Reserve- the one & the only place in the world to host the famed wild melanistic tigers. Let’s protect our gem. Odisha forests were & is a sink to source populations from MP & Maharashtra.Let’s protect the corridors for them to populate.”

The declaration to celebrate this day was made on July 29, 2010, in St. Petersburg, aiming to unite all tiger range countries in a concerted effort to enhance tiger conservation and management worldwide. This day serves as a platform to raise awareness about the challenges faced by these magnificent creatures and the efforts being made to safeguard their future.

The forests of Odisha, which are treated as heaven for tigers, have 30 adult tigers and eight cubs, according to the All Odisha Tiger Estimation 2023-24, conducted by the state government.

The State has conducted all Odisha Tiger Estimation for the first time during 2023-24 in 47 forest divisions from October 15, 2023 to February 10, 2024.

In total, 13 adult tigers – seven females and six males – were found to be pseudo-melanistic in Similipal.

Out of 30 Royal Bengal Tigers, 27 were found in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).  In Similipal, 14 (equal number of male and female) are usual morph tigers and 13 (six male and seven females) are pseudo-melanistic tigers.

Besides the STR, Keonjhar territorial and Keonjhar wildlife, Paralakhemundi territorial, and Hirakud wildlife have one tiger each.

The presence of three unique adult male tigers camera-trapped in the Hirakud Wildlife Davison, Paralakhemundi Territorial Division, Keonjhar Territorial and Keonjhar Wildlife Division looks promising and provides hope for a better future for tigers in these habitats.

The survey report shows that the tiger population is reviving in the State. The State Government has already asked the Forest Department and the Wildlife Wing to conduct a yearly census and to keep a tab on the tiger population.

The Forest Department has decided to procure more trap cameras to monitor movements of tigers at the Similipal Tiger Reserve and other forest areas. 

Earlier, the tigers were moving within the core area in the STR. But, now, the wild animals are roaming outside the core area also. The population of melanistic tigers (of black tiger) is increasing in the STR which is due to inbreeding, a senior forest official said.

For the last time, in 2018, one tiger was located in Satkosia tiger reserve. But during the latest survey, no tiger was located within the Satkosia area, he said.

He informed that the NTCA has the plan to reintroduce tigers in Satkosia but it has one condition that all habitations should be relocated from the forest area to avoid man-tiger conflict.

The State government has decided to go for the reintroduction of tigers in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary and supplementation of the striped predators in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) from Central India landscape within next four months.

The senior forest official said the department received permission from the NTCA to bring the big cats to Debrigarh in January and Similipal in May. Accordingly, the Hirakud Wildlife Division has been asked to introduce three tigers – one male and two females – to Debrigarh sanctuary from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in the next two months. The timeline for execution of the project is August 31.

Similarly, the Forest department has planned to supplement STR with two more female tigers from Central India, preferably Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, to improve genetic diversity of the big cats in the protected area.