In a letter to Chief Wild Life Warden (CWLW) Madhya Pradesh, HS Pabla, the NTCA Deputy Inspector General SP Yadav has said that it would be appropriate to initially release the two-orphaned tigresses in the micro core area at Phen with radio telemetry monitoring.
Significantly the sanctuary is situated in the vicinity of the Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Yadav directed that the tigresses could be moved to Phen after due permission from the competent authority.
"After their wilding, these felines may be considered for translocation to the Panna Tiger Reserve, " he advised.
The NTCA directives are likely to enthuse wildlife activists who have long been questioning the translocation endeavours of the Forest Department, and also the methodology of the process.
The Forest Department was forced to postpone the translocation of the big cats from Kanha to Panna on December 5 last, after the siblings had attacked each other and were left with several cuts and bruises. The department had not specified as to when the translocation would be completed.
The two tigresses had been reared in an enclosure inside the Kanha Tiger Reserve after they were orphaned. Tiger conservation activists had been raising serious objections over the sustainability of these handreared striped felines in the tough conditions of the wild. The Pioneer had published a detailed article on December 16, 2010, regarding the proposed translocation of the tigresses from Kanha to Panna covering all the relevant aspects of the process and the details of Panna's difficult terrain, which had lost all of its tigers by the start of 2009.
In the article, noted wildlife experts had highlighted the delicate situation in Panna due to the birth of a few cubs and had described the translocation of the two tigresses as ‘unnecessary' for the time being.
When contacted, Pabla confirmed that he had received a letter from NTCA on the proposed translocation of the tigresses from Kanha to Panna. But added that consultations with the NTCA were still continuing over the proposed relocation.
“The translocation has been put on hold due to the presence of a few cubs that were born in the recent past, " he said.
Source: Vivek Trivedi, The Pioneer, Bhopal.
