Abstract
India has achieved a rare global conservation success by doubling its Tiger Panthera tigris number since 2006. However, in India’s east-central states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand the tiger numbers are declining. The tiger population in Odisha is largely confined to Similipal Tiger Reserve which represents the only known breeding population of a genetically unique wild melanistic form. We report a first empirically confirmed tiger dispersal event towards the south between Similipal Tiger Reserve and adjacent Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary as part of our intensive monitoring exercise conducted from 2019–2022. This evidence-based dispersal event confirms tiger presence in Kuldiha after 11 recent years and urges strong support for tiger conservation in the Greater Similipal Landscape. In order to ensure long-term tiger presence in this landscape, we suggest more rigorous management interventions like habitat restoration and management, prey recovery, intensive protection measures, conflict management, and creation of inviolate space.
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