Palamu: A tiger from Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in Jharkhand, which has initially strayed into West Bengal's Purulia district and kept moving in the natural corridor for quite some time, is being closely watched by forest officials, who are looking to tranquilise the big cat and move it to Palamu Tiger Reserve.
Palamu Tiger Reserve authorities are going to approach the National Tiger Conservation Authority with a proposal to clear the decks for the transportation of the tiger. After getting the permission of the NTCA, the tiger will be tranquilised and brought to the Palamu Wildlife Sanctuary. A team from the Wildlife Institute will also be present during the tranquilisation of the tiger.
"Preparations are on to bring the tiger from Dalma to Palamu Tiger Reserve. The tiger will be tranquilised first before being moved to PTR. During this, a team from the Wildlife Institute will also be present. According to the information received from the Wildlife Institute, the tiger from Dalma belongs to PTR. The tiger has gone to Dalma through the natural corridor. Green signal is awaited from NTCA for transportation of the big cat," Prajesh Kant Jena, deputy director of PTR, said.
Actually, the tiger off and on entered West Bengal from the Dalma area of Jharkhand for the last few months. A special team of Palamu Tiger Reserve is also camping in the Dalma area to monitor the tiger.
Tiger depends on Dalma cattle for food
There is no prey for tigers in the Dalma area. The tiger is hunting cattle to satisfy its hunger. The Dalma area is famous for elephants. There are very few wild animals like deer, chital, nilgai, and bison in the area. The tiger mostly hunts these animals. A large area adjacent to Dalma has an urban population. Due to this, there is less option for the tiger to move to places for food.
Palamu Tiger Reserve has been declared a safe area for tigers. This area is connected to the landscape corridor of tigers. There is a tiger corridor from PTR to the Satpura forest. A few days ago, Simlipal Tiger Reserve of Odisha tranquilised and rescued a tigress from the Jharkhand-Odisha border. However, later the tigress was freed in the same area.
