Context

Sundari, a tigress shifted as part of India’s first inter-state translocation project in 2018 from Madhya Pradesh to Odisha, returned home, signifying failure of India’s first inter-state tiger relocation project.

About

What was the Tiger Relocation Project?

• The tiger relocation project was initiated in 2018.
• Under the plan, two big cats, a male (Mahavir) from Kanha Tiger Reserve and a female (Sundari) from Bandhavgarh from Madhya Pradesh were relocated to Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha, to shore up the tiger population in the state.
• Sundari was brought to Satkosia a week after Mahavir’s arrival.

Purpose of the project

• The relocation was meant to serve two purposes —

• to reduce tiger population in areas with excess tigers to majorly reduce territorial disputes
• to reintroduce tigers in areas where the population has considerably reduced due to various reasons

Factors contributed to the likely failure of the project

• lack of confidence and trust building between the forest department and the villagers
• human-animal conflict
• Poor capacity for tiger monitoring
• Poor protection