THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, February 13: A 25-member team from the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) visited the Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve for two days to get tips on relocating cheetals and bison.
Translocating bison is as huge a task as the bison. Bison is translocated when it is first sedated or tranquillized. Again, bison are to be translocated up to two in numbers for their comfort and safety.
PTR team learns finer points
The PTR team, which returned here on Monday, learnt the finer points of translocation of the bison in the Sanjay Dubri tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
The PTR contingent had chief conservator of forest and field director Kumar Ashutosh, deputy director of north division P K Jena, biologist Hritik Dhami of Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun, a veterinary doctor and field staff.
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Field director Kumar Ashutosh said, “Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve translocates wildlife. It has an old history of it. It has developed its expertise.”
Soft release centres
“In Sanjay Dubri tiger reserve, there are soft release centres, too. The translocated wildlife is quarantined here before being released into the wild,” said Ashutosh.
However, Ashutosh said, “It’s a different practice at the Kanha Tiger Reserve. There, translocated wildlife is straightway released into the wild. A similar direct release is done in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, too. Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve is an exception. There are soft release centres.”
Deputy director of North Division PTR P K Jena said, “There is an exclusive soft release centre for the tiger. Here is kept rescued tiger or brought in tiger from other places.”
“We saw two tigers there in the soft release centre. They appear to be brother and sister. Their mother was dead. They looked to have been rescued and brought up,” said Ashutosh.
Enclosure for tiger
Jena said, “Enclosure for tiger differs from the enclosure for cheetals. There are invariably two gates in the tiger enclosure. One for the prey to be pushed in,” Jena said.