Maharashtra Forest Department to translocate 4 tigresses
New Delhi: According to officials on Thursday, April 21, 2022, the Maharashtra forest department is considering the translocation of four tigresses from the Brahmapuri and Chandrapur ranges to the Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR).
They said that the population of big cats in Brahmapuri and Chandrapur has exceeded, causing man-animal conflict in the region. However, only eight tigers were reported in the NNTR, which has a capacity of 25 tigers.
A three-member team of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) visited the NNTR, a 652 sq. km area in the Gondia and Bhandara districts, to study the habitat, diversity, prey base, corridor area, etc., the officials said.
“WII will continue to study the region for the next five to six months and monitor the translocation,” Deputy Director Pavan Jephe said.
“We have more than 100 leopards per hundred sq km, and frequent sightings of leopards are recorded in the park compared to tigers. The tiger population has remained the same for last 10 to 12 years. The translocation will help increase the population of big cats,” Jephe said.
“The habitat of the reserve is good, and the management has developed extensive grasslands in the relocated villages of the Kalimati, Kawlevada, and Zhankargondi districts in the past few years as part of the NNTR,” he added.
Jephe further said that tigers are considered apex species, and a good tiger population will indicate a positive number of other species.
(Avya Mathur)
