Sundari, a royal Bengal tigress brought from Madhya Pradesh to be rehabilitated in Odisha forests under the programme of translocation, continues to be a headache for the state government.

Bhubaneshwar: Sundari, a royal Bengal tigress brought from Madhya Pradesh to be rehabilitated in Odisha forests under the programme of translocation, continues to be a headache for the state government. The state administration, which is now holding her in a special enclosure, is now trying its best to safely release the big cat into the wild.

Since the tigress has lost its instinct to hunt its preys and is surviving on supplied foods, the state government is planning to rewild the tigress before releasing it into the forest.

As per the chief wildlife warden of Odisha, Ajaya Moahapatra, the tigress has lost the faculty of preying after spending time enclosures and discussions were held on Monday to take steps for restoration of the hunting abilities of Sundari. At a meeting on the future of the tigress, discussions were held on rewilding of Sundari for which a 25 hectare enclosure has been proposed. Experts from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India will be roped in to assist in rewilding efforts. “After staying in captivity for long, it is necessary to rewild the animal. It’s a procedure and the animal can be released to the forest after rewilding. As far as the timeline is concerned, it will depend on the condition of the tigress and its adaptability,” Anup Nayak, NTCA member secretary, said on Tuesday.

Moreover, discussions were held to shift the tigress from the Satkosia wildlife division to the Mahanadi wildlife division. Apart from the chief wildlife warden of Odisha, the meeting was attended by NTCA member secretary and officials of the Satkosia forest division. Sundari, which was brought from the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve was released into the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in August.