courtesy-Livescience.com
In order to alter the man-eating behaviour of animals like tigers and leopards, a rewilding centre is been planned to be set up at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve this financial year so as to avoid the animal attacks on people as claimed by the officials.
Animals are losing their critical distance with humans due to repeated chance encounters because of the geographical landscape of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), to deal with the same, officials are rewilding to maintain the required distance so as to avoid any further encounters. As stated by Naveen Khandelwal, PTR Deputy Director to Press Trust of India (PTI).
To reverse the behaviour of tigers, the concept of rewilding is used. Generally tigers live in the close vicinity of human habitation. To reaccustom them with the wild habitat is the main objective of this move as said by Naveen Khandelwal.
Usually, when leopards and tigers are caught at any populated area, they are shifted to zoological gardens but this time they are sent to rewilding centres, according to Lalit Verma, chief conservator of forests when he told PTI.
All the formalities and proposal for the same has been sent to the state government for approval along with the land for rewilding being finalized. After tranquilizing the tigers they would be brought to these rewilding centre and would be set free where they would be able to hunt wild boars, neelgai and cheetal thereby forgetting the taste of human blood.
From the year 2014-2020, 31 people lost their lives in the man-animal conflict while during the period five tigers and three tigresses were caught.