STPF debuts in Satkosia prior to tiger translocation

Bhubaneswar: A Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) was inducted by the wildlife wing of the forest department in Satkosia Tiger Reserve on Saturday, similar to the one deployed in Similipal.
The induction comes at a time when National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given the go-ahead to the wildlife wing for resumption of tiger translocation project that had been suspended in 2018.
Apart from prey recovery programme and other corrective measures, STPF deployment was necessary to make the translocation project a success in the long run, wildlife officials said.
Saroj Panda, divisional forest officer, Satkosia, said 30 personnel have been inducted in the STPF comprising 10 protection assistants (who work on a contractual basis), 10 ex-Army personnel and 10 regular foresters and forest guards.
“Deployment of STPF personnel is dynamic. It is never static. Based on requirement and vulnerability of a place or patch of forest in terms of poaching and past incidents, STPF personnel will be deployed. The wildlife wing has allotted 30 weapons for the personnel. They also carry binoculars, laser finders, drones, walkie-talkies and other safety gear for patrolling in the forest,” said Panda.
Satkosia Tiger Reserve comprises two sanctuaries — Mahanadi and Satkosia. While there are four villages in the core area of Mahanadi division which are yet to be relocated, Satkosia’s core area is free from any human habitation. To augment prey population, the Satkosia authorities have developed 460 hectares of meadows.
NTCA had recommended that an STPF similar to that in Similipal should be formed for daily monitoring in fringe villages where snares, live wire traps (electrocution), bait bombs and poisoning are reported. The receommendation was mentioned in the NTCA approval letter to the state wildlife wing.
Last month, an expert committee of NTCA approved the resumption of tiger translocation project in Satkosia six years after the attempt to recover the big cat population failed.
After the NTCA team’s visit in May to study feasibility for resuming the translocation exercise, the approval was accorded with 15 measures to be taken before tigers are brought to Satkosia. At present, there is no tiger in the reserve.