Angul:October 04 : Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) and Field Director of Satkosia Sanctuary Sudarsan Panda on Thursday confirmed that the Royal Bengal tigress Sundari had moved into the core area of the Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) late on Wednesday night.
In a statement to the media, Panda said that the tigress had ventured into the core area of the STR on its own without the use of tranquilisers or traps.
According to the PCCF, Sundari was seen moving freely with Mahavir, the male Royal Bengal tiger brought from the Kanha National Park of Madhya Pradesh.
Panda further added that if the mating between the two big cats takes place, the objective of raising the population of Bengal tigers in Satkosia would be accomplished.
It may be mentioned here that, tigress Sundari went on a hunting spree and killed as many as five cattle at Bipradi village near Athmallik Forest range border in Angul district. Before that, the Royal Bengal tigress had allegedly mauled a woman at Hatibari village near Satkosia Tiger Reserve in the district on September 12.
Following this, an operation to capture tigress Sundari and release it into the deep forest was launched.
The two-year-old Royal Bengal tigress Sundari brought from Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh was released into the forest at the Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Angul district on August 17.
Prior to that Royal Bengal tiger, Mahavir was released into the forest. The male tiger was brought from Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh June 21.
Prasanta Patnaik