elusive sub-adult NT-3 tigress, missing since April 13 and whose GPS collar was discovered in compartment No. 95 of the Nawegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) on Sunday, was successfully captured by the Forest Department on Monday morning after extensive efforts.

The Forest Department, under its Tiger Conservation Translocation (TCT) programme, had translocated the NT-3 tigress from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) and released her into the NNTR core area on April 11. A radio collar was affixed to monitor her movements in the forest as part of the programme, which aims to introduce around seven to eight tigers into NNTR to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.

However, the NT-3 tigress went missing within 48 hours of her release into the wild, with her radio collar later discovered in Compartment No. 95 of the NNTR core area. Upon detecting the collar in the jungle, the Forest Department swiftly initiated a rigorous search operation within NNTR.

The successful capture operation was carried out under the supervision and guidance of senior forest officials, with the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and expert veterinarian Dr. Ravikant Khobragade from TATR, along with an assistant researcher from Dehradun, effectively tranquilizing the tigress in the morning. They subsequently reinstalled the GPS collar on the tigress to monitor her movements and ensure her safety