New guest brings fresh hope for Debrigarh

Bhubaneswar: Days after a Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted at the Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary after five years, its authorities are now eyeing to develop it into a tiger reserve. “Debrigarh has huge potential for becoming a tiger reserve and we are in the process of complying with the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s requirements,” principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) S K Popli said on Monday. “At present, we are monitoring the tiger’s movement,” he added.
On Saturday, a Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted at the sanctuary for the first time in five years, prompting the authorities to swing into action to enhance its protection and place 100 camera traps.
The last time when a Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted in Debrigarh was in 2018.A few days later its carcass was found Following an inquiry, three poachers were arrested for laying down a trap to kill the tiger.
Officials opined that improvement in prey base and the availability of water drew the big cat into the western Odisha tiger habitat this time. The authorities feel that the large expanse of meadows, which helps herbivores graze, led to an improvement in prey base. Debrigarh’s 25% area (353 sqkm) is now plain land with meadows. Last year during summer, the authorities created meadows on land vacated by 400 families living in the nearby villages. That helped create additional meadows over 500 hectares of land.
The authorities decision to clear out ipomoea carnea, a weed that grows in the wetland, also helped improve the prey base. “Ipomoea, colloquially known as amari, serves as a barrier and obstructs the animals from accessing the wetland. Since the shoreline of Hirakud reservoir runs along the sanctuary, clearing out amari ensured a smooth passage for the animals from the forest to the reservoir, where they come to quench their thirst. In areas where ipomoea was removed, we have found evidence of leopards hunting down sambar and deer,” a forest officer said.
In the sanctuary, the route between Dhodrokusum and Chourasimal has been identified as a bison route, Dhodrokusum and Damkighati is known for presence of other varieties of herbivores such as boars, spotted deer and sambars. Leopards are seen on the route between zero point (entry point of the sanctuary) and Parvatitung.
This time, the authorities believe, the big cat either came from Sambalpur side or from the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh. The Debrigah sanctuary is located at the junction of Central and eastern India forest with three sanctuaries - Achnakmar and Udanti in Chhattisgarh and Kanha in Madhya Pradesh – situated in proximity. Many a times in the past it was seen that Chhattisgarh tigers strayed into Debrigarh and made it their second home.