Bhubaneswar: Odisha is home to 27 tigers including 24 in Shimilipal Tiger Reserve and one each in Keonjhar, Keonjhar Wildlife Division, Parlakhemundi, and Hirakud Wildlife Division, according to the latest state-level tiger census in 2024. Additionally, eight tiger cubs were found in Shimilipal.
It was informed by Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh R Singhkhuntia in the State Assembly in response to BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy.
In the last decade, two tigers were brought to Odisha from Madhya Pradesh, while none were relocated from the state. Unfortunately, 48 leopards and seven Royal Bengal Tigers died between 2014-15 and 2023-24, he added.
Singhkhuntia further disclosed that Odisha did not conduct a tiger census in 2000. However, in 2002, estimates suggested 173 tigers in the state using the pug mark method.
The first all-India tiger population census was conducted in 2006 using camera traps, which estimated 45 tigers in Odisha. The minister emphasized that this figure cannot be compared to previous estimates due to differences in methodology.
