To revive the big cat population, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia have released a tiger and tigress into enclosures in Madhya Pradesh National Park in Shivpuri district, according to officials.
Officials said that the tigress released in Madhav National Park was brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, while the tiger was captured last year when it was roaming in the campus of Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) Bhopal.
After its capture from MANIT, he was released in Satpura Tiger Reserve in October and has been brought to MNP from STR.
The officials also said that the plan to capture and release the second tigress failed as she was unable to do so at Panna Tiger Reserve.
The translocation of the two big cats took place to marks the birth anniversary of former Union Minister Madhavrao Scindia, the father of Jyotiraditya Scindia. Madhav National Park, incidentally, is named after their ancestor Madho Rao Scindia.
Officials said Chouhan and Scindia pulled a lever each to release the two big cats from their cages into the enclosures, adding to the total of five tigers, including two males and three females, will be translocated to MNP to revive the big cat population.
MNP director Uttam Sharma told PTI that tiger and tigress have been released.
As per officials statement, these animals will be released in the wild field at MNP after being kept in separate enclosures for sometime. The area is spread over 375 square kilometers.
This is the third time the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department is going to re-introduce a tiger in a wildlife sanctuary with successful projects of the kind having been undertaken in Panna Tiger Reserve and the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sagar, officials said.
(With PTI Inputs)
