IAF MI-17 helicopter transports Pench tigress from MP’s Sukatra airstrip to Rajasthan

A tigress that had been eluding the authorities of Pench Reserve in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni for the last 24 days was captured and successfully airlifted to Rajasthan for relocation in an Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter on Sunday (December 21, 2025), officials said.

The big cat was surrounded by elephants several times from morning to afternoon, before being tranquillised and brought to Sukatra airstrip in Seoni in a rescue vehicle, an official said.

The Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter airlifted the tigress, along with the cage, to Rajasthan’s Vishdhari Tiger Reserve at around 6 p.m., he said.

Pench Tiger Reserve wildlife veterinarian Dr Akhilesh Mishra, assistant director Gurleen Kaur, Rukhad ranger Lokesh Pawar, WCT wildlife veterinarian Dr Prashant Deshmukh, forest officials from Rajasthan, and a team of experts were on board the helicopter to ensure the three-year-old tigress’ safe journey, the official said.

Forest officials and veterinarians fit a radio collar and collect samples from a tranquilised tiger during the country’s first inter-state tiger translocation operation, in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh
| Photo Credit:
PTI

“Pench tigress PN-224 was captured from the wild and airlifted from Sukatra airstrip to Rajasthan. This relocation will not only increase the tiger population in Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve but will also help strengthen genetic diversity among different tiger landscapes. This operation is an excellent example of scientific wildlife management and technical prowess,” Pench Tiger Reserve deputy director Rajneesh Singh said.

“India has achieved another major success in wildlife conservation and inter-state coordination. The most significant aspect of this entire operation was the safe transport of the tigress to her new home via an Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter. This relocation operation was conducted systematically and scientifically for the past month,” Singh informed.

The authorities at Pench Tiger Reserve utilised modern AI-based camera traps and motion sensor cameras to identify and monitor the tigress’s movements, with approximately 50 cameras set up in the area to accurately monitor the big cat’s health and behaviour, the official said.

The successful operation was facilitated by the unique coordination between the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Forest Departments, with Rajasthan’s Chief Conservator of Forests, Suganaram Jat, and veterinarian Dr Tejinder camping in Pench for the past eight days.

The entire process was completed under the guidance of Pench Tiger Reserve field director Devprasad J and deputy director Rajneesh Kumar Singh, officials said.

The complex process of tranquillising the tigress was carried out under the leadership of Dr Akhilesh Mishra and Dr Prashant Deshmukh (Wildlife Conservation Trust), with the assistance of experts from Jabalpur Veterinary College and field biologists, they said, adding that assistant director Gurleen Kaur led the mission during the transfer.

The contribution of field staff from the Kurai and Rukhad ranges of Pench was crucial to the success of this mission, as they patrolled daily from 6 am to 6 pm to monitor the tigress’ movement, they said.