Dikhyaa Mohanty 
With the approval of an inter-state tiger translocation scheme by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Odisha is preparing to increase the number of tigers in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) in the Angul district. For the project’s five years, 14 tigers from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) would be moved to Satkosia. The goal of the Forest Department’s plan is to introduce genetically related Maharashtrian tigers to Odisha, which is anticipated to greatly increase the tiger population in the state.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Susanta Nanda, states that the relocation procedure will start as soon as the NTCA’s requirements are fulfilled. To guarantee seamless execution, in-depth talks with local representatives and citizens will take place before the project’s commencement. Numerous communities in the buffer zone have also been evacuated, in addition to the settlements that have previously been removed from the reserve’s core.
This project was launched in the wake of an unsuccessful translocation effort in 2018. A few months after being moved to Satkosia, Mahavir, a tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve, was discovered dead, and Sundari, another tiger from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, had to be returned because of issues. The new plan, which aims to boost conservation efforts and restore Satkosia’s tiger population, has the Forest Department confident despite prior losses.
