Maharashtra: 2 tigresses captured in Chandrapur to be relocated to Nawegaon-Nagzira
ccording to the forest department, a total of 10 people were killed this year in the man-animal conflict in the district. In all, 53 people were killed in attacks by tigers and leopards in the Chandrapur district in 2022
The state wildlife wing on Tuesday captured two female tigers from two different landscapes, including one from the sensitive zone known for man-animal conflicts in Brahmapuri division and a tiger from Gadchiroli forest in Maharashtra.
Jitendra Ramgaonkar, field director at Tadoba Tiger Reserves, said the captured tigers will be relocated to Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) after they are examined by the expert team from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
It is a very lengthy process and after the approval from the expert team, the tigresses will be re-located from Chandrapur to NNTR, he said.
According to the forest department, a total of 10 people were killed this year in the man-animal conflict. In all, 53 people were killed in attacks by tigers and leopards in the Chandrapur district in 2022.
With the increasing man-animal conflicts, the forest department is preparing an action plan to curb the man-animal conflicts in the district and hence a decision to relocate the big cats was initiated.
According to officials, the process of translocation of four to five tigers from the Brahmapuri division to the NNTR has begun.
The decision to relocate the big cats from Bramhapuri and some other parts of Chandrapur was taken by the then PCCF (Wildlife) Sunil Limiye about two and a half years ago. The then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray too had given the go-ahead to the plan, however, it was delayed for around one and a half years.
The basic idea is to tackle the increasing man-animal conflict in Chandrapur district, where the number of tigers has substantially increased and so has the conflict. Besides, the main objective of this project is to increase the number of female tigers at the NNTR to balance the male-female ratio, said officials.
Presently, the male-female ratio of tigers in NNTR is skewed and forest department officers feel that introducing tigresses to NNTR will help in increasing the population.
It is estimated that there are around 350 tigers in Maharashtra with over 200 tigers in Chandrapur district alone. In a way, this conservation translocation of tigers will also help Chandrapur forests as the number of tigers there is high.
According to experts from the Wildlife Institute of India, the NNTR’s core area is 656 square km, while the buffer area is 1,200 square km with a potential to host 20-25 tigers, whereas the present population is around 8-10.
