21 carnivores sent to Gorewada Rescue Centre in 5 years

By Kaushik Bhattacharya

Gorewada Rescue Centre, the only shelter for rescued wild animals in Maharashtra, currently has 27 tigers and 26 leopards. Of the carnivores, 21 were sent to the centre in last 5 years, revealed Forest Department. The Forest Department, in reply to a RTI query by Abhay Kolarkar, stated that forest teams rescued 30 carnivores including tiger, leopard and sloth bear, from various forest areas of the State between 2019 and 2023. Of these, 17 tigers and 4 leopards were sent to Gorewada Rescue Centre Nagpur for treatment and care. “Currently, 27 tigers are at Gorewada Rescue Centre. Of the 27, we are planning to release two tigers into the wild. For this, a training session of the staff is on at Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR). Also, one more tiger will be released soon,” Shatnik Bhagwat, Director, Gorewada Rescue Centre, told The Hitavada.

The Gorewada Rescue Centre administration is planning to release only three tigers into the wild whereas 24 will be kept at the centre for the rest of their life. Similar planning is done for the leopards also. The centre has 26 leopards and two sloth bears. They all shall remain at the centre for the rest of their life. “We have 30 enclosures in Gorewada Rescue Centre which are almost full with these carnivores. Most of the carnivores we have are injured or are not capable to hunt in the wild. Therefore, they will remain here for rest of their life. Under animal exchange programme we can send them to other zoos in the country,” added Bhagwat. Vidarbha, which has the highest population of tigers in the State, witnesses man-animal conflict frequently. In the conflict with humans, many carnivores like tiger and leopard get injured. Forest teams rescue them and send to Gorewada.

In last five years, 13 tigers and three leopards were rescued from Chandrapur division and most of them were send to Gorewada Rescue Centre. The centre has three tigers rescued from Nagpur division, three tigers and one leopard from Gadchiroli division, two tigers from Yavatmal division, two leopards from Thane division and a sloth bear from Amravati division were rescued in last five years. Among these 30 carnivores, a leopard that rescued from Chandrapur was later released in Compartment No 250 of Chandankhedi area of Alapalli forest range. Another leopard which was rescued from Thane circle on November 3, 2021 was released in wild after fixing a radio collar. The sloth bear rescued from Buldhana circle of Amravati division on October 29, 2021 was also released in its natural habitat the very next day. Apart from these three carnivores, not a single tiger has been released in its natural habitat so far in last five years. Apart from Gorewada Rescue Centre, some rescued carnivores were shifted to city’s Maharajbag Zoo, Transit Treatment Centre, and Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Boriwali in Mumbai.