As the state forest department is moving forward to place two female and one male ( total -3) tigers at Palamau Tiger Reserve ( PTR) in Jharkhand, the traditional belief among Adivasis to honour ‘Bhagh Devta ( Tiger God) has gained ground inside the PTR area.

For over five decades, this entire PTR area was under the command of the Naxalites (Left Wing Extremists) when the population of big cats had fallen to four letter word - zero.

Now, since the Naxalites no longer call the shots in the state including the PTR area,the local inhabitants were in cheers. They recently celebrated their annual Sarhul festival by displaying hand made craft showing worshiping Bhagh.

Aware of it, now when PTR gears up to introduce females from Madhya Pradesh to increase its tiger population, following approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the State Forest Department has wooed the tribals who reside in the PTR area to participate in the conservation story.

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Toward this end, an initiative was made in collaboration with tribal residents to conserve sacred Bhagh Devta, and link these biodiverse areas of faith to the big cat , already popular in folklore.

Spread across Palamau and Latehar districts of Jharkhand, the 1,130 sq km tiger reserve, established in 1960, is one of the oldest in India and has inspired filmmakers and writers.

While the critical habitat area has nearly 33 villages, there are 150 others outside in the buffer zone. Of the 33, seven are on the relocation radar this year -2026-27.

Though no body has spotted any tiger in the PTR area in the recent past, the 2023 All-India Tiger Estimation Report lists only one tiger in Palamau.

The state forest officers say  seven big cats were utilising the reserve.This is questionable, said a 65- year old environmentalist who resided  inside PTR area since his childhood. 

The forest officer shared that these tigers came to Palamau after 2022, possibly from Madhya Pradesh, to utilise the reserve through the corridor which is active and links Bandhavgarh and Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla tiger reserves in central India to Jharkhand.

“Unlike Panna and Sariska where tigers had to be reintroduced from scratch after they were wiped out, tigers are coming to Palamau naturally. This is because males go outside and explore and establish new territories. To augment the population, two females and one male from Bandhavgarh will be introduced in the monsoon or post-monsoon season due to a similarity in the landscapes.”

Notably, Jharkhand's PTR has sought formal approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to translocate two female tigers and one male tiger from Madhya Pradesh. This reintroduction aims to revive the big cat population in the region