Big cat ‘Bahubali’ released in Panna Tiger Reserve
A tiger captured from the Central Agriculture Engineering Institute, Bhopal, has been released into the Panna Tiger Reserve.
A tiger captured from the Central Agriculture Engineering Institute, Bhopal, has been released into the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR).
The tiger, named ‘Bahubali’ by the park authorities owing to its massive size, has been assigned the call sign T 7 and radio-collared before being released on Tuesday evening.
Chief conservator of forests (CCF) R Sreeniwas Murthy told HT that the tiger was set free at Kudia Seha within the core area of the reserve after being fitted with a satellite-based radio collar for constant monitoring.
He added that Bahubali is aged around 5 years, measures 9 feet 2 inches and is currently the biggest tiger in Panna Tiger Reserve. The area where T 7 was released was selected on the basis of presence of other tigers and prey base.
The decision to shift the tiger to the Panna national park was taken to add to the gene pool available there.
Spread over 542 sq km in Panna and Chhatarpur districts, PTR had lost all its felines to poaching four years back, but it now boasts 32 big cats, thanks to the tiger reintroduction programme.
All tigers born in Panna after the reintroduction programme that commenced in 2009 can trace their ancestry to T 3, a male tiger brought from Pench Tiger Reserve.
Read: Tiger gene pool to expand with release of captured big cat at Panna