A sub-adult tigress from Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district has been successfully captured for translocation to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) as part of an ongoing breeding and conservation initiative, an official said on Monday.
The operation was carried out inside the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), where a team comprising forest officials, veterinary experts, and rapid rescue personnel tranquillised the tigress identified as T7_f_S2_f, the daughter of tigress T7.
“The capture was strategically executed within the tigress's vast home range, which overlaps both the Tadoba and Kolara core ranges,” TATR field director Dr. Prabhu Nath Shukla said in a release.
According to Shukla, the translocation forms a crucial component of a wider plan to restore a sustainable breeding population in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.
The introduction of this genetically distinct tigress is expected to reduce inbreeding risks and strengthen the long-term survival prospects of the tiger metapopulation in Maharashtra. This marks the second tigress to be sent from Tadoba to STR.
After the capture, officials completed a detailed health examination and equipped the animal with a VHF/GPS radio collar. Shukla added that upon reaching STR, the tigress will undergo a controlled “soft release” into a temporary enclosure.
