By SANTOSH MOHANTY
The whereabouts of the lone tigress in Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Angul district is shrouded in mystery after it could not be traced in cameras fitted in the jungle since over two months.
Although wildlife officials of Angul forest division did not seemed to be worried over its disappearance, local animal lovers are apprehensive that as the big cat is not spotted in high resolution cameras for quite some time, this might result in the end of the tiger population in the sanctuary.
The disappearance of the tigress comes to the fore at a time when a decomposed carcass of a bison was found at Tulka forest region in Purunakote range recently. The wildlife officials are tightlipped what led to the death of the bison which is listed as endangered species. They, however, maintained that the post mortem report might throw light on the death of the animal.
Social activists and environmentalists associated with different nature lover institutions in Angul said the Satkosia Wildlife sanctuary which was once bustling with Royal Bengal Tigers(RBTs) and other extinct species, is almost bereft of the big cats. They said there were efforts in the past to increase the number of RBTs in the sanctuary, but the wildlife officials had failed miserably in their endeavour.
Wildlife officials in the past had tried their best to bring in a pair of RBTs from Madhya Pradesh. But, their effort came to nought after one tiger was killed by poachers and the other one was sent back to the parent jungle after it turned man eater.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Saroj Panda told the media that it is premature to say that the tigress has disappeared from its habitat. He said as the whole of sanctuary is not under camera surveillance, there is a possibility that the movement of the tigress could not be snapped. 'We have started investigation into the matter and our teams are fanning out to different locations to locate the tigress. The prevailing biting cold wave condition in the jungle region might have prevented the old tigress to move frequently', Panda added.
Local animal lovers and environmentalist alleged that the wildlife sanctuary has been witnessing death of several endangered species like antelopes, bison, wild boars and reptiles in the past and Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary is no longer a safe habitat for the species.
Series of deaths of wildlife species in Satkosia region have given rise to speculations that adequate measures for protection and conservation of animals in the sanctuary have not been initiated.
Sources alleged that the wildlife officials are little concerned over foolproof management of the issue. It is further alleged that poachers are on the prowl in Satkosia region and the biosphere. The sources alleged that booby traps are used for killing animals for their horns and skins as these are of medicinal value and sold at high prices. The horns of antelopes and bison are used for preparing medicines. Therefore, these are in great demand both at home and abroad.
The sources said that in most cases, the Wildlife Institute of India(WII) were kept in dark and added that detailed probes were never taken up.
