odisha news: Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), Dec 26: Odisha is preparing to receive two tigresses from Madhya Pradesh as part of an animal exchange program aimed at bolstering the state’s tiger population. This initiative will see a total of fourteen tigers relocated from various reserves in Madhya Pradesh, including Bandhavgarh, Panna, Kanha, and Pench. Of these, four tigers will be sent to Rajasthan, two to Odisha, and eight to Chhattisgarh, according to reports from the state Forest Department.
The full cost of the translocation will be covered by the states receiving the tigers. Madhya Pradesh, known as the “Tiger State,” is home to 785 of the 3,800 tigers in India, spread across its six reserves: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Pench, Sanjay Dubri, and Satpura. Recently, the central government also approved the establishment of two new tiger reserves: Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhopal and Madhav National Park in Shivpuri district.
In Odisha, the wildlife wing of the Forest Department has developed a detailed project report (DPR) to enhance the protected area of the Similipal Tiger Reserve, planning to introduce a total of six tigers in phases. Two tigresses have already been translocated from Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra to Similipal to improve the genetic diversity of its tiger population.
