A male tiger safely entered the Nallajerla Reserve Forest on January 30 in Eluru district, inching close to its natural habitat in the Papikonda National Park (PNP).
Sighted by the locals in a maize field on January 26, the tiger entered the reserve forest by walking through the oil palm fields and canals of the Godavari river, braving all threats. It did not harm any cattle since its first sighting in the Eluru forest range.
The tiger has been walking at an average speed of 3-km per day, and its route is being tracked by the experts deputed by the A.P. Forest Department.
Tracing route
Eluru District Forest Officer Ravindra Dhama, in a release, claimed, “We have identified pugmarks of the tiger at Challa Chintalapudi village in the Nallajarla Reserve Forest, which is close to the PNP. The rescue operation is still in force.” The authorities would tranquilize the animal in an inevitable condition.
Mr. Dhama told The Hindu that “prey and water are available along the route the tiger is taking for the past few days.”
The Forest Department has already pledged to compensate for the cattle killed by the tiger, and appealed to the local communities not to harm the big cat.
On the other hand, a team of experts from the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) and the forest authorities are following the movements of the tiger, attempting to drive it back to its natural habitat without any harm to it or tranquilizing it.
The rescue operation is in force as per the Tiger Conservation Protocol adopted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
“We have installed CC cameras to monitor the tiger’s movement round the clock and deployed Forest Department personnel to alert the local communities about the tiger,” said Mr. Dhama.
