One of the tiger cubs rescued last December

Jorhat, Sept. 25: Saved nearly a year ago, they will begin a journey on Friday that will ultimately lead to their release in the wild.

The two Royal Bengal tigers were among three cubs rescued from Anini in Dibang Valley district along the Sino-Indian border in December last year. They were trapped in a dry water tank in Angrim valley, a settlement near the sanctuary. After being sedated and rescued, one died, and the other two — a male and female — were shifted to the mini-zoo at Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district.

On Friday, personnel of the Arunachal Pradesh forest department will start an arduous journey to transfer the duo from Roing to Itanagar zoo — an exercise that would necessitate crossing the Brahmaputra at Sadiya in Assam’s Tinsukia district.

A four-vehicle convoy will set off with the tigers, both more than a year old, on Friday and, if things go according to schedule, reach the zoo after 36 hours. “It would be a tough task to transfer the two tigers from Roing to Itanagar,” an Arunachal Pradesh forest official told The Telegraph.

“We will start their rehabilitation process at Itanagar zoo, where they would be kept in a secluded enclosure and trained to hunt so that they can survive in the wild,” the official said. “The cubs would then be shifted back to the Dibang Valley wildlife sanctuary at Anini where they would be further trained till they are fit for release in the wild.”

“They would be lodged at Itanagar zoo for about two months,” he said.

It was decided to shift the two tigers to Itanagar zoo because it was becoming difficult to keep them at the mini zoo in Roing.

“The tigers are growing and it was becoming difficult to keep them in the small zoo,” the official said.

He said since the tigers are going to be released in the wild, it was very important that they be kept away from human presence. This was not happening at the Roing zoo. “Visitors constantly disturb them.”

The official said there would be five halts during the journey, including a night at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near Kaziranga National Park. “We have also hired two boats to cross the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhola in Tinsukia district. A police team will accompany the convoy during the entire journey.”

He said the tigers would be tranquillised before being transferred to two special cages constructed for the purpose and then loaded onto trucks. “A group of veterinarians and animal keepers would accompany them.”

The forest official said the Dibang Valley wildlife sanctuary, where duo are to be released, was an excellent tiger habitat, very rich in wildlife. However, no studies have been done on tigers or any other species in the sanctuary. This area has the potential to even be declared a tiger reserve, he added.