The transient adult tiger native to central India is all set to get a new lease of life as the expert committee of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Tuesday (February 10, 2026) decided to reintroduce it into the natural landscape. India’s tiger conservationists have unanimously agreed to release the big cat back into the wild as it should no longer be confined to animal rescue centers (ARCs), highly placed sources told The Hindu.

In the ARC, the tiger will be at risk of being exposed to ‘human imprinting’ which may alter its emotional response and behaviour. The concerned authorities will decide in a day or two in which forest it will be released.

The experts who decided the fate of the male tiger during a two-day brainstorming session concluded that it is ‘innocent’ as it did not attack any human being during its 53-day stay in four states – Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, in which it walked over 650 kilometers in search of ‘prey’. On February 6, Rajahmundry Wildlife Management personnel and Pune-based RESQ Trust experts tranquilized the tiger at Kurmapuram village in East Godavari district before taking it to the ARC in Visakhapatnam.

Operation Stripes The historic operation was named ‘Stripes’, in which the tiger was sequestered in a human settlement without causing any harm. Sources in the state forest department told The Hindu that the operation will continue until the tiger is brought back into the wild. The operation is being seen as a new dawn in the history of tiger conservation in Andhra Pradesh as it ended without any harm to humans, frontline personnel or the big cat.

Frontline staff involved in the operation claimed, “The operation would not have been successful without the support of the local communities. ” Tiger conservationists and wildlife experts from Andhra Pradesh have welcomed the decision of NTCA to reintroduce the tiger into the wild and said that this initiative will pave the way for the conservation of tigers in Andhra Pradesh.