Tiger on the Prowl: Fear Grips East Godavari Villages
5 Feb 2026 2:29 AM IST5 Feb 2026 2:29 AM IST
Foresters prepare to capture tiger to release it into forest
The young tiger has so far killed around 11 cattle and fortunately sparing humans. The wild animal was spotted near Namavaram located about 11 km from Rajamahendravaram on late Wednesday night. — DC
Vijayawada: A team of licensed veterinarians are tracking the elusive young tiger to tranquillise and capture it and after its recovery, it may be relocated in a forest area.
As the tiger has been spotted in the human habitations in the suburbs of Rajamahendravaram in East Godavari district and is going on a spree of killing cattle including the fresh kill of a buffaloe at Raghunathapuram, a hamlet of Diwan Cheruvu gram panchayat on Wednesday, the chief wildlife warden has permitted to capture the tiger.
Accordingly, the foresters are mobilising teams of veterinarians and equipment from the zoos of Visakhapatnam and Tirupati and will be taking the help of a local veterinarian by name Phanindra to capture the tiger.
A six-member rescue team is coming from Pune while equipment like a radio collar from Uttarakhand, thermal drones and infrared 4G web cameras from Mumbai are being transported to Rajamahendravaram to use them to capture the tiger.
The foresters are of the opinion that the tiger movement has become highly unpredictable as efforts made to drive to the forest area like Papikonda National Park proved futile as it is moving in the human habitations given the availability of easy prey like cattle and attacking and killing them and eating some of them.
With the permission given to capture the tiger, the foresters face a big challenge to find out the tiger in a strategic location so that the licensed vets can give a shot of tranquilliser to sedate it and they should be so careful that any miscalculation in aiming the tiger and also with regard to dosage of the sedative, things go wrong and make the tiger vulnerable for trouble. Moreover, the entire exercise is being done under the supervision of senior forest officials to ensure compliance with the protocol of National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Shanti Priya Pande said, “As the tiger enters human habitations and goes on a spree of killing cattle, we are making all efforts to find it and tranquillise it to capture and release it in the wild after recovery.”
Rajahmundry circle conservator of forests BNN Murthy said, “We are getting all requisite equipment and teams of experts from several parts in the country in order to track the movement of the tiger through day and night to capture it safely.” The wild animal was spotted near Namavaram located about 11 km from Rajamahendravaram on late Wednesday night.
Accordingly, the foresters are mobilising teams of veterinarians and equipment from the zoos of Visakhapatnam and Tirupati and will be taking the help of a local veterinarian by name Phanindra to capture the tiger.
A six-member rescue team is coming from Pune while equipment like a radio collar from Uttarakhand, thermal drones and infrared 4G web cameras from Mumbai are being transported to Rajamahendravaram to use them to capture the tiger.
The foresters are of the opinion that the tiger movement has become highly unpredictable as efforts made to drive to the forest area like Papikonda National Park proved futile as it is moving in the human habitations given the availability of easy prey like cattle and attacking and killing them and eating some of them.
With the permission given to capture the tiger, the foresters face a big challenge to find out the tiger in a strategic location so that the licensed vets can give a shot of tranquilliser to sedate it and they should be so careful that any miscalculation in aiming the tiger and also with regard to dosage of the sedative, things go wrong and make the tiger vulnerable for trouble. Moreover, the entire exercise is being done under the supervision of senior forest officials to ensure compliance with the protocol of National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Shanti Priya Pande said, “As the tiger enters human habitations and goes on a spree of killing cattle, we are making all efforts to find it and tranquillise it to capture and release it in the wild after recovery.”
Rajahmundry circle conservator of forests BNN Murthy said, “We are getting all requisite equipment and teams of experts from several parts in the country in order to track the movement of the tiger through day and night to capture it safely.” The wild animal was spotted near Namavaram located about 11 km from Rajamahendravaram on late Wednesday night.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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