Tigress from Maharashtra brought to improve gene pool amid worries over ‘inbred’ tigers in Odisha’s Similipal reserve

Genetic analyses of different tiger populations successful India and machine simulations suggest that the achromatic tigers of Similipal whitethorn person travel from a precise tiny founding colonisation and are inbred.

The Odisha Tiger Estimation conducted this twelvemonth recovered that retired of the full 24 big tigers successful Similipal, 13 are pseudo-melanistic. Also, 10 of the 24 are males and 14 are females.

In March, the authorities authorities had sought the support of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to present Similipal’s achromatic tigers to pistillate tigers from locations successful cardinal India that lucifer the scenery and clime of Similipal. NTCA officials past visited Similipal, aft which the assemblage gave its motion to the translocation project, sources said.

Hence, the authorities authorities decided to present tigers from geographically proximate, but high-heterozygosity (more familial diversity) colonisation areas.

“The 2.5-year-old tigress was captured astatine astir 9 americium connected Saturday and brought successful a peculiar conveyance from Maharashtra. It volition beryllium released to a soft-enclosure of astir 2 hectares successful the halfway areas of Similipal contiguous and volition beryllium kept connected reflection for astir 7 days,” Odisha Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Susanta Nanda, told The Indian Express connected Sunday.

One much tigress from a tiger reserve successful Maharashtra volition beryllium brought to STR soon arsenic portion of the project, officials said.

In 2018, the Odisha authorities had made a tiger translocation effort with the purpose of bringing the large cats backmost to the Satkosia Tiger Reserve, which nary longer has tigers. Accordingly, 1 antheral tiger, Mahavir, from Kanha and 1 female, Sundari, from Bandhavgarh successful Madhya Pradesh had been translocated to Satkosia. While the antheral tiger died aft falling into a trap laid by poachers, the pistillate was sent backmost to its archetypal situation aft it allegedly killed 2 persons during its 30-month enactment successful Odisha.