Bhubaneswar: Odisha wildlife wing on Sunday said any Maharashtra sanctuary or reserve will be their top choice of habitat to bring tigers for the second phase of translocation in Similipal Tiger Reserve slated in Oct.“The authorities don’t want to take any chances by exploring source habitats in other states but rely on Maharashtra only. Considering the success Maharashtra tigers lent to Similipal tiger translocation, any habitat from there will be selected for the second phase,” it said.The second phase will see two tigresses and one tiger being brought to the reserve. In the first phase, tigresses Yamuna and Zeenat were brought in Oct and Nov 2024.Prem Kumar Jha, PCCF (wildlife), said it has been proved that tigers brought from Maharashtra (considered central India landscape) are most compatible in Odisha’s habitat. “Most important is that we get tigers from the core area if we choose Maharashtra. We will move the state govt accordingly, proposing Maharashtra’s habitat as the source to pick our choice of tigers to run the second phase of translocation,” said Jha.The twin tigresses brought from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve in the first phase have stabilised in Similipal, with Zeenat even giving birth to four cubs, serving the objective of the translocation programme.On June 28, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had praised the wildlife wing for its adept handling of the inter-state tiger translocation in the presence of Union forest minister Bhupender Yadav in Rajasthan. The NTCA experts deliberated on tiger supplementation in Similipal Tiger Reserve there.The wildlife wing here said it has prepared the concept note and will send it in a week to the govt for getting a nod to go ahead with the second leg of translocation possibly in Oct.Wildlife officials said once the state govt gives the nod, a team will visit Maharashtra to be deployed at the selected tiger sanctuary for a sustained study of the animal’s behavior for weeks together so that right one is brought.The wildlife wing also ruled out bringing tigers from Madhya Pradesh as they have experienced failure in 2018 in the country’s first inter-state tiger translocation. A tiger and tigress were brought from two different reserves in MP, but the male was allegedly killed by poachers while the female turned man-eater.
