Bhubaneswar: Here’s good news for wildlife lovers. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has accepted the Odisha government’s proposal to declare Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha’s Sambalpur district a tiger reserve.
In 2018, the Odisha government proposed to the NTCA to declare Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve. The demand became stronger when a group of tourists spotted a young sub-adult Royal Bengal Tiger at the sanctuary on December 1, 2022.
Forest department officials had then claimed that tigers from forests in neighbouring Chhattisgarh often stray into Debrigarh and make the sanctuary their second home.
Confirming the news, a source in the Forest and Environment department said, “The NTCA has approved a proposal for declaring Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding forests as a tiger reserve at its technical committee meeting recently.”
After Simlipal and Satkosia, Debrigarh will be the third tiger reserve of Odisha. According to the source, the Odisha government is expected to issue a notification in this regard soon.
Spread over an area of 804.51 sq km, Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary has plenty of prey animals for tigers and other carnivorous animals. “You can find at least 30 prey animals per sq km at Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary making it an ideal location for the growth of the tiger population at Debrigarh,” said a wildlife expert.
Wild animals such as bison, sambar, chital, chowsingha, wild boar and leopard are sighted frequently at the sanctuary. Debrigarh is also among the largest bat habitats in the world.
