Odisha’s Satkosia Tiger Reserve to Receive 14 New Tigers from Maharashtra

Bhubaneswar: The Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha’s Angul district is set to welcome new tigers, as the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved a tiger relocation project. This initiative aims to boost the big cat population in Odisha by translocating tigers from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR).

Under this plan, 14 tigers will be relocated to Satkosia over five years. According to PCCF Susanta Nanda, the decision to source tigers from Maharashtra is based on their genetic similarity to Odisha’s native tiger population.

The NTCA has set specific conditions for this relocation project, and the Satkosia Forest Department will commence the initiative once these are met. Extensive discussions with local residents and public representatives will take place and additional village evacuations from buffer zones will be completed.

This isn’t the first attempt to reintroduce tigers to Satkosia. In 2018, Mahavir, a tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve, was relocated but died within months. Tigress Sundari, brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve the same year, had to be returned after the country’s first interstate tiger relocation experiment failed.