Bhubaneswar: More than a couple of months after the tranqu-ilisation of Royal Bengal tigress Sundari, the forest department of Odis-ha has decided to engage two trained elephants in guarding the big cat.
Elephants Mahendra and Rajkumar are being brought from Similipal in Mayurbhanj district to Satkosia for the purpose, reports said.
“Decision over releasing tigress Sundari from enclosure has not been taken yet. The two elephants are being bro-ught to Satkosia from Similipal for general security as per the NTCA protocol,” said principal chief conservator of forest Sandip Tripathy on Sunday.
A dispute was earlier prevailing over the relocation of the elephants as the locals of Similipal opposed it. However, the issue was resolved by the forest department after holding talks with the locals.
Notably, the tigress was relocated from MP’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve to Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Angul district on June 28, 2018, as part of a pilot inter-state transfer project to increase the big cat population in Odisha.
