Bhubaneswar, Nov 25: A male tiger, hailing from the Tadoba landscape in Bramhapuri, Maharashtra, has embarked on an extraordinary journey, covering a 2,000 km to reach Odisha by crossing four states in search of a safe territory and a mate.

Generally, forest departments come to know about such dispersal only when tigers are radio-collared, but the one from Bramhapuri in Vidarbha was not radio-collared and was identified by the pattern of  its stripes.

This may likely to be the second-longest tiger dispersal recorded in the country, Tiger r overcame numerous obstacles, including water bodies, rivers agricultural fields, roads, and human habitats. Yet, there is no record of the animal attacking humans along the way.

Though Odisha has been reporting the dispersal of tigers from neighbouring Chhattisgarh this is the 1st time a big cat reached the eastern state from Vidarbha in the west.

According to the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE) 2022, released in July, Odisha's forests are home to an estimated 20 tigers. Forest officers in Odisha reported that from June to July, the tiger consistently traversed between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. By September, it was once again ighted in Odisha, specifically in the Mahendragiri range. 

The population of tigers in the country has increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022, the government had earlier revealed in August this year.

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