Gondia/Bhandara: In a bid to enhance wildlife diversity and strengthen the prey base for carnivores, the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in Maharashtra is set to receive 50 deer from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) by the end of February. Additionally, NNTR has submitted a proposal to translocate 500 sambars as part of a long-term conservation plan.
According to NNTR Deputy Director Pawan Jeph, the state government has approved the translocation of 500 deer, with the first batch of 50 to be relocated from Jamni in TATR to Navegaon National Park by early March.
“A temporary enclosure has been set up at Kalimati, where the deer will be acclimatized before their release. If successful, more herbivores will be translocated in the future,” Jeph stated.
Concerns Over Translocation Plan
However, the move has sparked debate among wildlife experts. Some conservationists fear that removing a large number of deer from TATR could disrupt the ecological balance and lead to human-wildlife conflicts in the region.
A senior honorary wildlife warden from Gadchiroli highlighted potential drawbacks:
- Impact on TATR’s ecosystem: A sudden reduction in prey could affect predator populations.
- Ecological suitability: “Deer are primarily plains dwellers, and NNTR’s landscape may not be ideal for their survival.”
- Past failures: A similar translocation effort in 2021 at TATR resulted in the loss of 50 animals, raising concerns about execution and habitat suitability.
Previous translocations at Tipeshwar and Bor Tiger Reserves also faced challenges due to dense canopy cover, poaching threats, and inadequate water sources—factors that need to be addressed for the success of this initiative.
Authorities are closely monitoring the experiment at Kalimati before proceeding with additional relocations.