A tiger was found dead in a farm well in Narkhed forest range of Maharashtra`s Nagpur district, forest officials said on Sunday, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, a release by Deputy Conservator of Forests Bharat Singh Hada said that the carcass of the big cat was discovered in a well of a farm in Mouza Pipla Khurd area on Saturday evening.

The forest department has registered a case under the Wildlife Act and further investigations are going on, it said.

Meanwhile, the authorities at Maharashtra`s Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) have begun preparations for phase-wise translocation of three more tigers into the protected forest, nearly seven months after two big cats were brought in, officials said on Sunday, as per the PTI.

Considering the high number of tigers in Bramhapuri range, the state government has proposed shifting some of the felines to other reserves where the big population is thin. Accordingly, translocation five tigers from Bramhapur to NNTR has been planned.

The NNTR is spread across Gondia and Bhandara districts of the state.

On May 20, state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar ceremonially released two tigresses from Chandrapur ” NT-I and NT-II ” into NNTR as part of the tiger translocation programme.

Pavan Jepf, deputy field director of NNTR, said they have begun preparations for phase-wise translocation of the remaining three tigers into the park and are now working site identification for it.

“We will also require (radio) collar, antenna and additional stuff to monitor things. Discussion and planning is going on but it will take another couple of months to complete the preparations before the translocation,” Jepf told PTI.

Of the translocated tigresses, NT-II has settled in NNTR, while NT-I is currently roaming in Waraseoni range of the Balaghat district in neighbourng Madhya Pradesh, with forest staff keeping an eye on its movement, said the official.

To raise awareness about the translocation efforts, NNTR officials have organised a workshop of villagers living in the park`s vicinity.

“Grazers from villages in the neighborhood of wildlife sanctuaries and reserves are an important part of the forests and it`s important to take them into confidence for the care of the wildlife,” Jepf said.

Along the lines of NNTR, translocation of eight big cats to Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) has been proposed, officials said. Recently, a team from STR led by deputy field director Uttam Sawant visited NNTR to study the process, an official said.

Sawant said that looking at the topography of STR they need to make “soft release” of the big cats in enclosures. STR is spread across Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts.

(with PTI inputs)

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