Royal Bengal Tiger in Odisha: A Royal Bengal Tiger has been spotted inside Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha. The sighting has put the forest department on alert as officials have started taking extra steps to protect the big cat and keep track of its movement.
The tiger was seen in the sanctuary under the Hirakud Wildlife Division. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Anshu Pragyan Das said the animal entered the forest through the Dechuan-Lakhanpur forest road. Forest staff saw the tiger during a patrol and its image was also recorded by a camera trap. Officials suspect that it may have come from neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
The forest department has increased security across the sanctuary to protect the tiger from poachers and other possible dangers. Around 100 camera traps have been set up along important forest routes and border areas to record the animal’s movement.
West Bengal To Fence 71-Km Ichamati River Border With Barbed Wire, Says Suvendu Adhikari
As many as 27 special teams are also patrolling the forest every day. A three-layer night patrol system has been arranged to keep watch on the tiger when it moves around after dark.
Das said, “Members of the patrol team spotted the tiger directly, and its photos were also captured in a camera trap, which have been sent to experts from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to determine its sex, which forest it migrated from, and other details,”
Debrigarh recently strengthened its wildlife protection system with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The sanctuary has an e-Eye surveillance tower connected to 18 smart camera traps. The system helps track animal movements and detect forest fires and possible threats.
The first five camera traps were connected to the AI tower in December 2025. In October 2026, the number was increased to 18 after the wireless network became fully operational. Photos and videos recorded by these cameras are sent directly to the control room for real-time monitoring.
Debrigarh had another tiger between 2022 and 2024. It stayed in the sanctuary for around one-and-a-half years before moving to Gomarda Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh, where it died due to electrocution.
West Bengal Land Verification Rules: 16 Categories for Easier Plot Checks
Odisha has also recorded other important tiger movements. In 2023, a male tiger from Maharashtra travelled more than 2,000 km across four states before reaching the Mahendragiri forest in Odisha. Tiger movements have also been recorded around Sunabeda, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri and Satkosia.
The state is also home to rare black tigers, which are found in Similipal forest. Debrigarh’s connection with the forests of Chhattisgarh makes it an important route for tigers moving between the two states. The latest sighting has once again brought attention to the importance of protecting these forest corridors.
This website uses cookies.