Nagpur, Dec 10 (PTI) A tigress has been translocated from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve to Sonarli acclimatisation enclosure at Chandoli National Park in Maharashtra's Sahyadri Tiger Reserve as part of breeding and conservation efforts, forest officials said.
The 2-year-old tigress, T7-S2, was captured on Monday evening in the Kolara core range of Tadoba and examined for her health status. Veterinary checks confirmed that she was fit for transfer, a release from the forest department on Tuesday said.
"Tigress T7-S2 is a young dispersing female from the Kolara core range. She is healthy, strong and behaviourally suited for translocation," Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve's field director Dr Prabhunath Shukla said.
The 'soft release' allows the tigress to adjust to the terrain, prey base and environmental conditions inside a protected enclosure before her eventual release into the open forest, the release said.
The process was carried out under scientific guidance from the Wildlife Institute of India, with a scientist and a field biologist monitoring her acclimatisation and behaviour.
Shukla said the capture was strategically executed within the tigress's vast home range, which overlaps both the Tadoba and Kolara core ranges.
He said this operation is part of a broader project to re-establish a viable breeding population in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR). The introduction of this genetically distinct lineage aims to prevent inbreeding and boost the long-term survival of the tiger metapopulation in Maharashtra.
This is the second tigress to be sent to STR from Tadoba.
STR's Field Director Tushar Chavan said, "The soft release of the second female tigress from Tadoba under Operation TARA (Tiger Augmentation and Range Expansion) is an important step in Sahyadri's tiger recovery mission. The tigress is in good health, and Chandoli provides a secure habitat with a sufficient prey base."
"The coordinated conservation efforts of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and Sahyadri Tiger Reserve under Operation TARA are strengthening Maharashtra's tiger recovery mission. The successful introduction of the second female tigress reflects the dedication and professionalism of our field teams," Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), M Srinivas Reddy, said.