Gaurs may be shifted from Kanha Reserve to Bandhavgarh

After successful translocation of a tiger and two tigresses to Panna, 20-25 Gaurs (Indian Bisons) are likely to be shifted from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Bandhavgarh National Park in January.



Most probably, the Gaurs will be translocated from Kanha to Bandhavgarh in January," Bandhavgarh Field Director C K Patil told PTI today. Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Conservation Corporation of Africa, state Forest Department will be involved in the exercise of bringing the Gaurs from Kanha to Bandhavgarh - both situated in eastern Madhya Pradesh, he said.

January is the best time to shift the Gaurs, which usually descend from the hills during this period and enter the wild, he said. Bandhavgarh has become devoid of the Gaur population after 1995 when a Gaur was spotted in the park, Patil said. Before 1995, 30 to 35 Gaurs were spotted in the Bandhavgarh, the field director said adding that it appears that they used to descend from nearby hills and come down to the park.

I think that the Gaurs' transit route to and fro to Bandhavgarh has been disturbed due to Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station which has come up in Birsinghpur," he added. Patil said that the Gaurs will be tranquilised in Kanha and brought to Bandhavgarh by specially designed trucks. The field director said that the TATA has donated these trucks which are being manufactured with special care and design in Jabalpur.

CC Africa is providing us the technical know-how for translocation," he said adding that state forest department has earmarked Rs 1.16 crore for the exercise. Last year, two tigress - one from Bandhavgarh and another from Kanha, besides a tiger from Panna were translocated in Panna Tiger Reserve which became devoid of big cat population. In April, a translocated tigress had given birth to four cubs in April out of which two are feared dead, officials said. The translocation experiment met success in country, when the tigress gave birth in Panna.

Tiger, elephant from Corbett

Panic gripped Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) on Saturday as forest guards recovered carcasses of a tusker and a tiger from different locations of the CTR area. Wildlife warden said the six-year-old tiger was apparently killed during a fight over mating with another tiger in the Kalagarh forest division. Sources, however, said poachers could have been involved in the killing. A gang of poachers has been active in the CTR and adjoining areas for some weeks, sources said. the exact cause of death will be known after a postmortem.