Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has transferred a three-and-a-half-year-old tiger named Pancham to Green Zoological Rescue and the Rehabilitation Kingdom set up by Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, Mukesh Ambani. The tiger was taken by a team of wildlife experts who came to Van Vihar in Jamnagar for the purpose.
This is the first time that the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has given a tiger to a private organization. According to officials, Tiger Pancham was rescued from Kanha Tiger Reserve on December 17, 2020, two years ago and brought to the Van Vihar. Mukesh Ambani's Greens Foundation had earlier written a letter to the Forest Department saying that the rescue centres of Madhya Pradesh do not have the capacity for wildlife welfare.
However, voluntary organizations had protested against giving tigers to the organisation. Pancham's departure is also considered to be an ecological loss because the young tiger was useful for breeding. The officials at Van Vihar are currently avoiding talking about it. Meanwhile, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has ordered to give 1 tiger and 3 leopards to the forest department of the state.
However, the state is yet to get the lions from Gir forest despite Supreme Court directions in this regard. Ambani's 280 acres Green Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom is being built in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The zoo will have other wild animals like African Cheetah, Zebra, Ostrich, African Elephant and Orangutan. Mukesh Ambani's son Anant is at the helm of the project.
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