Tranquilisation Now On Cards To Deal With Tiger In Yadadri District
Officials advised residents to return from agricultural fields before sunset and to move in groups if outdoor movement was unavoidable. The incident has led to fear among villagers, with several residents expressing reluctance to visit their fields.
Hyderabad: The Telangana forest department has begun making preparations for capturing the wandering tiger, still moving about in Yadadri-Bhongir district, by tranquilizing it, though for now, it said it will take steps to ensure that the tiger is not disturbed as it moves about, or attempts to feed on its kills. The department, also said on Wednesday that if disturbance surrounding the tiger is reduced to a minimum, it would hopefully go about its way, and return to the forests iin erstwhile Adilabad district, where it spent some time after entering Telangana from Maharashtra.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (head of forest force) Dr C. Suvarna, chairing a meeting of an expert committee and senior department officials, said crowding near kill sites, “fuelled by rumours and misinformation,” is hampering monitoring efforts and disturbing the animal. The police department’s assistance is being sought to control crowds and maintaining law and order in areas where the tiger is moving around.
The increased focus on the tiger came after it killing a cow in Sharajipet village of Alair mandal an incident that was discovered on Wednesday morning and caused a fresh round of panic among local people. Before moving to Alair, the tiger has spent time in Yadadri, M Turkapally, and Rajapet mandals.
Though for now the decision was to continue monitoring the tiger’s movements, the department has sought assistance from RES-Q, a Pune based group to assist it in catching the tiger if the need arises. A rescue team from the Nehru Zoological Park too has been deployed to keep an eye on things.
Wednesday’s video-conference meeting was also attended by Harini Venugopal, assistant inspector general of forests and the National Tiger Conservation Authority official for south India. She is learnt to have recommended that no precipitate action be taken and enough room be given to the tiger which is exploring new territory and trapping the animal is not a solution.
The forest department, in a detailed press release, said “if the situation warrants, chemical immobilisation will be considered strictly as per NTCA’s standard pperating procedures. A special committee will meet at least twice a week to review developments and take appropriate decisions based on evolving ground conditions.”
The forest department said the tiger, a young male, entered Telangana late November 2025 from Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, originally coming from the Pandavkhara division near Tippeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary. It stayed for a couple of weeks in Kawal Tiger Reserve and then moved south and eventually reach Yadadri-Bhongir district.
Harini told Deccan Chronicle that the tiger is not being allowed to settle down, even to feed on its kills which is resulting it in killing more cattle because of the disturbance. “This tiger could have found a new corridor between Tipeshwar and Amrabad Tiger Reserves and it is exploring and more time should be taken to monitor its behaviour. There must be control on public, the number of people visiting kill sites,” she said, adding that placing trap cages may not serve the purpose as the animal is moving from place to place and trapping it should be a last option.
