Rare tiger sighting gives hope to Odisha sanctuary looking to house big cats

The development marks a significant milestone for Debrigarh, which has earlier been identified by the state government as a potential habitat for the proposed translocation of two big cats from central India. (Express photo)

A rare sighting has put Odisha’s Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary on alert, after a Royal Bengal Tiger was captured on camera traps and also spotted by a patrolling team on Monday.

The development marks a significant milestone for Debrigarh, which has earlier been identified by the state government as a potential habitat for the proposed translocation of two big cats from central India.

Authorities said surveillance has been stepped up across Debrigarh, with patrolling teams maintaining round-the-clock monitoring to track the tiger’s movement and ensure its safety.

Confirming sighting of the big cat in Debrigarh, divisional forest officer of Hirakud Wildlife Division Anshu Pragyan Das said the tiger is suspected to have entered the sanctuary through Dechuan-Lakhanpur forest corridor. The pugmarks traced by forest officials indicate that the animal may have strayed into Odisha from Chhattisgarh, which shares a border with Debrigarh.

“We have deployed 100 trap cameras to monitor the movement of the tiger. A total of 27 teams have been deployed for daily patrolling along the sanctuary’s boundary. Additionally, three-layer teams have been deployed for night-time patrolling,” she added.

Authorities said surveillance has been stepped up across Debrigarh.

While the source of the big cat, its gender and other details are yet to be known, Debrigarh authorities said they will share camera trap images of the tiger for analysis with officials of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). “The stripe pattern of the tiger will confirm its source,” said an official.

According to Das, it’s the second sighting of a Royal Bengal Tiger in Debrigarh in the past four years, indicating the big cat’s recurring presence in the sanctuary. “A big cat stayed in Debrigarh last during 2022-2024 for around 18 months. It died in Gomarda sanctuary in Chhattisgarh after it escaped from the Debrigarh sanctuary,” said Das.

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According to wildlife experts, Debrigarh forms part of the tiger corridor connecting central India. They believe the sanctuary’s healthy prey base comprising gaur, sambar, spotted deer and wild boar could be attracting big cats and making it a potential habitat for tigers.

Experts, however, are doubtful whether the tiger will make Debrigarh its permanent home as a sub-adult male generally moves to new areas in search of a mate. “Since Debrigarh is a clear forest, it’s likely to move around the sanctuary in search of a mate. If it fails to find one, it may eventually move out of the sanctuary,” said a retired official.

The Odisha government’s proposal to declare Debrigarh’s 804 sq/km area and its surrounding forests as a tiger reserve has already received an in-principle nod from the NTCA in 2023.

Debrigarh is well connected with the Udanti-Sitanadi tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh. In Odisha, it is linked to Satkosia tiger reserve through forests of Angul, Rairakhol, Athamalik and Sambalpur. From another side, it is linked to Sunabeda tiger reserve in Nuapada district.

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Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are... Read More