Tiger sighted in Debrigarh

Bhubaneswar: A Royal Bengal Tiger has been sighted inside the Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Baragada disstrict, a forest official said on Monday. The tiger was captured on camera and directly sighted inside the sanctuary after entering the Dechuan-Lakhanpur forest area, said Anshu Pragyan Das, Divisional Forest Officer of Hirakud Wildlife Division.

The big cat is suspected to have entered the sanctuary from neighbouring Chhattisgarh. However, its origin, gender and other details will be established after the photographs are analysed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India, she said.

A total of 100 camera traps have been installed and 27 teams deployed for daily patrolling along the sanctuary trails. Night patrolling is also being carried out by three layers of team, the forest official said. A Royal Bengal Tiger had inhabited the Debrigarh sanctuary for around one and a half years between 2022 and 2024. The animal later died due to electrocution in Chhattisgarh’s Gomarda sanctuary, she added.

The sanctuary’s dense forest cover, strong prey base and availability of water in Hirakud reservoir may have attracted the big cat, officials said. The Odisha government has planned to introduce tigers in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary from the Central Indian landscape.

Villages located close to forest areas have been brought under a safety cover through the installation of solar-powered fencing to prevent wild animals from entering human settlements.

A few days ago, a Royal Bengal Tiger was sighted in the Semiliguda forest range in Koraput forest division. Koraput Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sidharth Jain said the district had no resident tiger population and the origin of the animal was being investigated. As the tiger was not fitted with a radio collar, it was difficult to establish where it had come from, he said. “Koraput has no tiger population. Where this animal has come from is being investigated. As it is not fitted with a radio collar, tracing its origin is difficult. However, the animal has been sighted, and its pugmarks have also been found. We are taking all precautionary measures to ensure the safety of people as well as the animal,” Jain had said.

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The Hans India