Bhubaneswar News:Wilderness Still Eludes Wild Tiger

After staying for almost eight months in captivity at Nandankanan Zoological Park, the wild tiger that had strayed from Satkosia seems fated to lead more confined life, thanks to the bureaucratic muddle.
Since the return of the feline to the Zoo in June last year, the Forest and Environment Department has been forming panels and seeking opinions about its release.

After the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) played its part in delaying the whole process by making a recommendation for the feline’s release in Satkosia which it overturned later, the Department formed a six-member panel earlier this month to identify the site in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) where the Royal Bengal Tiger is proposed to be released.

Sources in the Department said the panel, which met last week, has chosen two probable sites in STR which will be visited by the members for taking a final decision. One site is located in northern parts of the tiger habitat’s core which has less movement of tigers while the other is in southern side where the big cat concentration is higher.

During the meeting, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which has been roped in by the State as a member in the panel, presented the details of the radio collaring of the tiger as per the protocol of the release.
As per the estimates made by WTI, it will require `55 lakh for procurement of the satellite radio collar and carrying out post-release monitoring for a year. The panel has already been mandated with requisitioning of funds directly from NTCA for the purpose.

However, the procurement takes time because the customised radio collar will have to be ordered from outside and tested before it is affixed to the tiger. This may take a few more months. And if the matter is not resolved before June, the whole release process will have to wait till the rainy season is over because most parts of Similipal become inaccessible during the monsoon and require road communication to be repaired.
In such a situation, the wild tiger would have to spend more than a year in the confines of the zoo. It had first walked into Nandanakanan in April last year.

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Source: Indian Express