Search Intensifies for Yadadri Tiger

Hyderabad: The elusive tiger that has stayed put in Yadadri-Bhongir district for 10 days was finally sighted on Monday night – albeit in a picture taken by a camera trap – even as forest officials said they were stepping up monitoring and tracking of the big cat that has had officials on their toes ever since it set out on its walkathon across several districts through Telangana.

Forest officials said that drones capable of taking thermal images were being rushed to the area, even as a couple of trap cages were moved in and kept on standby for any eventuality. Officials were also planning to install ‘live feed cameras’ in the spots suggested by trackers who were brought in from Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.

While the tiger, which killed a cow near Dattaipally on Monday returned to the kill, it reportedly did not feed on it and left the place soon after. “Maybe it got disturbed because of the flash from the trap camera,” an official said. The farmer, whose cow was killed, also reported to the forest officials that two more of his cows were missing and it is presumed that the tiger may have killed them too and dragged at least one away to a sheltered place where it may have fed on it.

Meanwhile, the team of trackers from KB Asifabad district inspected the surroundings of Ibrahimpatnam, Ralla Jangaon, and Dattaipally, the three villages between which the tiger has been moving around. All these villages are not very far from the famous Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple on Yadagirigutta.

“The live cams, coupled with the thermal drone, may help us get a better handle of its movements. So far, the tiger has not troubled anyone other than making some cattle kills and has kept away from people,” the official said. If need be, trackers will be called in from the Amrabad tiger reserve, the official added.

“It is important to note that even though the tiger has been moving in and around agriculture landscape and human habitations in several districts, it was not sighted directly by any person in any village. The tiger is avoiding contact with human beings and is not a threat to human life,” N. Kshitija, chief conservator of forests said in a news release. She urged everyone not to spread false or unsubstantiated information about the tiger or its activities, she said.

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On Tiger Trail With more tigers moving around the state, the forest department is:

Setting up a state-level technical group with experts from Wildlife Institute of India, and National Tiger Conservation Authority for timely guidance.

A group with all district forest officers where tiger movement is probable has been set up for continuous monitoring, coordination.

Live action cameras set for deployment on Wednesday in Yadadri forests.

Two trap cages sent from Nehru Zoological Park in case decision is taken to catch the tiger.

Veterinary teams with tranquilising equipment asked to be on standby.