T132F Not The First Tiger To Fall Prey To Poachers' Snares In NSTR

HYDERABAD: The tigress T132F is the not the first to fall prey to a poacher’s snare in the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. “This area sees tigers being driven out every year between February and April with tens of thousands of pilgrims walking through the forest to the Srisailam temple for Maha Shivaratri and Ugadi festivals. At last count, there were nine tigers in the Atmakur division of NSTR where T132F was tranquilized and is now being treated in Tirupati,” a source told Deccan Chronicle.

“Once the tigers leave the deeper parts of the forest and move to the fringes, they fall prey to snares placed by people to catch wild boar. Last year too one tiger caught in a wire snare was rescued, treated and released back into the forest after a few days. The real tragedy was that this same tiger died after it came into contact with an electrified snare earlier this year, and it’s carcass was discovered with its valuable parts like claws chopped off,” the source said.

“Unless anti-poaching and anti-snare drives become a daily routine forest work, the tigers in this part of NSTR will always be under threat. Each tiger is worth at least Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore in terms of ecosystem services it provides because it keeps safe the forest it lives in. Though several requests were made to the AP state government to create a Special Tiger Protection Force, there has been no movement on this at all. At least now with T132F’s plight, the government will take steps to increase protection for tigers and the tiger reserve,” the source said.