The big cat appears to be stranded along the Polavaram project canal in Kakinada district on Friday, June 3
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Andhra Pradesh State Wildlife Authority are set to launch a ‘rescue operation’ of an adult Royal Bengal tiger
The big cat appears to be stranded along the Polavaram project canal in Kakinada district on Friday, June 3, a report in The Hindu, says.
“On June 1, the male tiger attempted to enter the natural habitat at the end of Thotapalli Reserve Forest (TRF) in Prathipadu area of Kakinada district.
However, it may have enccountered some impediments in its movement in the forest area and returned to a village”, said C. Selvam, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife – Rajahmundry). On the same day, wildlife officials recorded some pug marks along the track between the last sighting of the tiger (May 29) and Thotapalli Reserve Forest.
However, on the night of June 1, the tiger resorted to killing fresh cattle at a Kasaurina plantation in Uttarkanchi village on Thursday. After returning from the TRF entry area, it left a trace of its presence near the village. The estimated distance between the two sites, where the cattle were killed by the tiger (reported on 29 May and 1 June) is six km.
Following the killing of cattle, wildlife officials alerted local communities to the tiger’s movements and prepared to launch a ‘rescue operation’ on Friday.
“NTCA has constituted a committee and has sent an outside expert to assist in the rescue operation as per the extant protocol laid down by NTCA. The external expert-cum-NTCA nominee will be part of the decision-making process of the rescue operation to be carried out by the State Forest Department’, Mr. Selvam said.
A live bait will be offered in cages that will be placed in strategic locations where its pug marks were recorded. “In the next phase of the operation, the tiger will be caged,” explained Mr. Selvam.
When the three-and-a-half to four-year-old tiger was last seen in the camera trap on May 29, it was quite healthy. However, veterinarians observed that it was dependent on cattle for hunting which was no longer safe for its health.
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