Wild Orissa, an Orissa-based wildlife conservation organisation, recognised the potential of these forests in 1997, and working in coordination with the Orissa State Wildlife Wing, highlighted the area's excellent wildlife density and its viable, breeding tiger population. Leopards, dholes and gaur are also seen here. Through the Satkosia Tiger Conservation Programme, Wild Orissa conducted regular wildlife censuses, documented and monitored the area's wildlife, and put forward a proposal in 2002. Specific focus was laid during the last ‘National Symposium on Conservation of Wild Tigers in Orissa' (NSCWTO), organised by Wild Orissa in 2003. One of the recommendations was for including forest patches like Satkosia-Baisipalli, Sunabeda-Khariar and Ghumusar. under the tiger reserve.
The Central Government's Steering Committee gave an ‘in principle approval' in 2005 and the State Government finally notified Satkosia as a tiger reserve on December 31, 2007, a day before the Forest Rights Act was implemented. Much of the new tiger reserve lies within the Mahanadi Elephant Reserve, home to nearly 500 elephants. The 22 km. long Satkosia Gorge, created by the Mahanadi river, divides the Chhota Nagpur Plateau and the Eastern Ghats bio-geographical zones, making this an area of immense biological distinction. It is the southernmost range of the critically-endangered gharial and is also home to muggers. Many migratory waterfowl take refuge in this unique ‘gorge ecosystem' in the winter.
February 2008
