The Odisha government is planning to introduce tigers to the famed Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Bargarh district, a senior forest department official told PTI on Tuesday.
Speaking about the revival of big cat population in Odisha on the occasion of International Tiger Day on July 29, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife Prem Kumar Jha said Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is a possible site for the introduction of tigers.
“We have received technical permission from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to convert Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary into a tiger reserve,” Jha said.
The state government has formed an expert committee to study the wildlife sanctuary and submit a report, marking the core area and buffer zone to make it a tiger habitation, he said.
“After completion of the process, we will take steps to bring the tiger to the sanctuary,” he added.
Tiger relocation an uphill task
Stating that tiger relocation is a very difficult process, the PCCF said, “The relocation of tigress Sundari in Satkosia Tiger Reserve has remained unsuccessful.”
Last November, two tigresses —Jamuna and Zeenat—were brought to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) from Maharashtra.
The inter-state tiger relocation project was 80 per cent successful as Zeenat went to Jharkhand and West Bengal and again brought back to STR. Now, both tigresses have been confined in their different territories, Jha said.
Inbreeding among the closed population has emerged as a looming threat to the striped predators in the protected area. Therefore, the STR authority had proposed to bring four tigers—two males and two females–from Maharashtra.
After studying the behaviours of the two tigresses, steps will be taken to bring another tiger to the STR, he said.
A similar move will be taken in future to bring tigers to the Satkosia Tiger Reserve, which doesn’t have any tigers at present, the forest officer said.
In 2018, the Odisha government had made a tiger translocation attempt at Satkosia Tiger Reserve. A tiger named Mahavir was brought from Kanha National Park and a tigress named Sundari from Bandhavgarh National Park, both in Madhya Pradesh, and released in Satkosia.
While the tiger died after falling into a trap laid by poachers, the tigress was sent back to its original habitat after it allegedly killed two people during its 30-month stay in Odisha.
As per the latest census conducted by the Odisha forest department, 30 Royal Bengal Tigers were found in the state, of which 27 were found in the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
On International Tiger Day, acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, in collaboration with World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India), created a sand sculpture featuring a 20-foot-long tiger surrounded by 51 small tigers at the Puri beach.
Pattnaik said, “It is an honour to collaborate with WWF-India on Global Tiger Day to create this sand art that reflects the tiger’s deep connection with our forests and communities.”
“Through my work, I aim to send a strong visual message about the importance of co-existence. The tiger is not just a symbol of power—it is a protector of our environment and it serves as a guardian of our ecosystem,” he said.
Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha tiger reserve, Similipal Tiger Reserve, Satkosia tiger project, National Tiger Day 2025
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