Bhubaneswar:  Good news for animal lovers! The Odisha government has claimed that the State houses more than 60 Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT).

This was informed to the media by Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray, saying the big cats were spotted at three new places in the State for the first time.

“As per the pug marks captured by cameras, we believe there are more than 60 Royal Bengal Tigers are now residing in the State. It is a good sign and adds prestige to the State’s forest department,” Routray said.

He further informed that the Royal Bengal Tigers were spotted at Hemagiri forest in Sundargarh, Debrigad Wildlife Century in Hirakud and Munigada in Rayagada district.

“Our forests have huge potential and the population of Royal Bengal Tigers will definitely increase in future,” the Minister claimed.

He said that the State government has taken several measures to maintain tiger habitation in different places.

The Minister also said that efforts are on to declare Sunabeda, some parts of Sundergarh and Debrigarh as new tiger reserves in the state

Earlier in February, 2017, the State government had claimed that as many as 40 Royal Bengal Tigers and 318 leopards were present in the State.

However, the report of National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) estimation done in 2014, claimed that there were 28 big cats in Odisha.