Kagaznagar: A Paradise Lost For Tigers

The Telangana forest department has been urging the state government to declare Kagaznagar a ‘Conservation Reserve,’ especially as the Telangana-Maharashtra border has become a crucial transit zone for tigers. Despite earlier enthusiasm, support from local communities has dwindled due to growing human-wildlife conflicts. Fear among villagers, especially Adivasis and non-tribals cultivating

podu lands, has surged amid concerns that forest officials may reclaim agricultural land for conservation.

While Kagaznagar witnessed high tiger movement and even resident tigers on the borders, the Kawal Tiger Reserve continues to report none. Officials attribute declining tiger numbers in Kagaznagar to multiple factors—lack of local cooperation, rising poaching, accidental electrocutions and displacement due to shrinking habitats. Podu cultivation and retaliatory killings further threaten tiger survival.

Komaram Bheem Asifabad district has become a key entry point for migrating tigers from Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Though officials claim five tigers are still present in the area, doubts persist about the accuracy of such assessments. Migrated tigers have also been sighted in Eturnagaram, Bhupalapalli, Kothagudem, and Mulugu forest areas.

The Kagaznagar forest had drawn spillover tigers from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) due to its high tiger density. The first known migration occurred in 2013 when a tigress entered Malini forest on the border, followed by a sub-adult tigress named Chaitra in 2014. Tigers were initially named after Indian months like Chaitra, Phalguna, Vaishaka and Jestha, later switching to names based on mandals.

The tigress Phalguna played a vital role in building the local tiger population. She entered the Laxmipur forest in 2015 and gave birth to two litters—four cubs each. These were named using a ‘K’ series referencing Kagaznagar (K1–K4 and K6–K9). One of her offspring, K8, gave birth to another litter (K11–K13). A male tiger, K5, had also migrated during this time.

Other tigers were named based on their points of entry: SI–S13 for those through Sirpur (T), A1–A3 for Asifabad, and P for Penchikalpet. These tigers were all spillover from TATR. Tragically, K8, an eight-year-old tiger from Phalguna’s second litter, was found electrocuted near Yellur village in Penchikalpet on May 14.

Imran Siddiqui, senior field conservationist at CWS India and a member of the Telangana State Board of Wildlife, highlighted that many tigers migrated into Adilabad from Maharashtra over the past decade. While some settled, others returned or were killed. He stressed the urgent need to involve local communities and improve inter-state coordination to curb poaching and ensure tiger safety.

Poaching is a growing threat in the region. In the last three years alone, three tigers were killed in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district—two in retaliation by villagers and one through poaching. Several tigers also died after accidental contact with electric wires installed by farmers to protect crops. In another incident, villagers of Tatiguda of Tiryani mandal killed a tiger in revenge in 2021.

These wires have proven deadly not only for wildlife but also for humans. In some cases, victims’ bodies were secretly buried by their families. Asifabad DFO Neeraj Tibrewal said, “Nearly 25 people have died of electrocution when they accidentally came into contact with live electric wires by the farmers and poachers in the last six years.”

Six people have been killed in tiger and elephant attacks during the cotton-picking seasons in recent years. Villagers have expressed fears about venturing into fields, impacting labour availability and escalating cotton-picking costs. Mohan Rao, a resident of Gannaram village, noted widespread panic due to tiger movements. Cotton picking operations were hit and labour charges increased as workers feared tiger attacks.

Tigers migration issues

• Nearly 30 tigers migrated from Maharashtra into the erstwhile Adilabad district over the last 12 years.
• The first known migration was in 2013 by a tigress into Malini forest; followed by the tigress Chaitra in 2014.
• Phalguna, a tigress, gave birth to two litters of four cubs each, forming the core of the Kagaznagar tiger population.
• Three tigers were killed in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district in the last three years—two in retaliation, one in poaching.
• K8, an eight-year-old tigress, was found electrocuted near Yellur village on May 14, 2024.
• 25 people have died by accidental electrocution due to illegal electric fencing over the past six years.

Human lives lost
• Six human deaths occurred due to tiger and elephant attacks during cotton harvest seasons.
• November 11, 2020: A migrated tiger killed Sidam Vignesh, 22, of Digida village in Dahegaon mandal.
• November 29, 2020: Pasula Nirmala, 15, was killed by a tiger while picking cotton near Kondapalli village, Penchikalpet mandal. The same A2 tiger was later involved in two more fatal attacks.
• November 15, 2022: Sidam Bheemu, 69, was killed by a tiger while guarding his cotton crop in Khanapur village, Wankidi mandal.
• November 29, 2024: Morle Laxmi, 21, of Gannaram village, died after being attacked by a tiger while picking cotton in Bengali Camp-6, Nazrulnagar, Kagaznagar mandal.
• April 3, 2024: A sub-adult elephant from Maharashtra killed Alluri Shankar, a farmer in Burepalli village, Chinthalamanepalli mandal.
• April 4, 2024: The same elephant killed Karu Pochaiah, 50, while he was tending his field in Kondapalli village, Penchikalpet mandal.