Bhubaneswar: Forest department on Saturday said the second phase of tiger translocation in Similipal Tiger Reserve will take place in Oct. The first phase has been a success with tigress Zeenat giving birth to four cubs. Zeenat and tigress Yamuna were brought in Nov and and Oct 2024 from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra.During the second phase, two females and one male will be brought to Similipal but the source habitat is yet to be finalised. “A host of formalities have to be completed before the second phase of tiger translocation. We are very positive about it. Habitat and tiger selection are very important in the entire exercise,” said PCCF (wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha.Wildlife officials said since tigers from the central India landscape have proved to be compatible with Similipal as seen in the case of Zeenat and Yamuna, big cats for the next phase might also be sourced from central India.Sharing the decision in releasing Zeenat for the second time in Similipal, Jha said they were in two minds. “Considering that it was going though phases of hormonal changes (which help attract males), we took the bet and released. The first mating didn’t culminate in pregnancy but the second one did. And there was no fear of further dispersion as it was pregnant because they don’t move out under such conditions,” Jha added.In Dec last year, reserve authorities said the tiger population in Similipal has been growing at 18% annually since 2014, but 50% of the population is pseudo-melanistic. National Centre for Biological Sciences scientist Uma Ramakrishnan, during her research in 2021, had suggested genetic diversity is required to check pseudo-melanism, a trait linked to inbreeding, and sustain big cats in Similipal. She had proposed translocation of tigers from the central India landscape.
