For the first time in the country, a non-endangered animal, the sambar, is being shifted and reintroduced to ensure that they procreate at a fast rate and provide prey base to tigers.
So far, only tigers (Sariska), bisons (Bandhavgarh) and rhinos (Manas in Assam) had been reintroduced. Maharashtra becomes the first to do so for sambars.
The Pench Tiger Reserve is set to reintroduce sambars, animals listed under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, in the Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, 180km from here and located in Yavatmal district.
There are about 5-8 tigers, including cubs in the sanctuary. Studies conducted show that sambars are the favoured prey of tigers. The existing prey base in Tipeshwar is very poor when compared to the number of tigers.
The herbivores will be shifted from Bor Sanctuary and Pench, which is 100km and 250km, respectively, from Tipeshwar. The state government has given a green signal to reintroduce the species, which has vanished from the sanctuary in the 1990s.
Read more at
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/In-a-first-sambars-to-be-shifted-and-reintroduced/articleshow/25349756.cms