Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Kanha Tiger Reserve has the rare distinction of rewilding as many as 15 tigers since 2005-06 — no other national park or tiger reserve in the state has achieved this feat.
Rewilding is the process of rehabilitating rescued or orphaned tigers and releasing them into the wild. Currently, four tiger cubs are undergoing the rewilding process in Kanha. Once they become skilled hunters, they too would be released into the wild.
Long ago, one such tigress was translocated from Kanha to the Panna Tiger Reserve. It had many litters, and Panna today has a booming tiger population. Likewise, a few rewilded tigers from Kanha were translocated to the erstwhile Nauradehi Sanctuary, now known as the Rani Durgawati Tiger Reserve. That reserve, too, has a sizable tiger population.
A senior officer at the Kanha Tiger Reserve told the Free Press that the rewilding process started as an experiment but has now become the protocol to rewild felines across the country. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has adopted the rewilding methods of Kanha.
At Kanha, the saga dates back to 2005-06 with two orphaned tiger cubs. The cubs could either be left in the jungle itself, which left them with slim chances of survival, or they could be sent to a zoo.
However, the forest officials decided to train the cubs to survive in their natural habitat. This experiment was a success, and there has been no looking back since.
Last January, one rewilded big cat was released in Kanha itself and is surviving on its own. Another rewilded tiger, popularly known as ‘Pattewala’ is often spotted by people.
Deputy Director of Kanha Tiger Reserve, Puneet Goyal, said that rewilding has proved to be a visionary initiative. Earlier, it was believed that only a tigress could teach the necessary skills to the cubs, but rewilding has busted that myth.
