Tiger sighted in Prathipadu mandal

Prathipadu (Kakinada District): A Royal Bengal tiger was sighted in the wee hours of Sunday on the hilly area at pump house in casuarina plantation near Potuluru village in Prathipadu mandal of Kakinada district. For the last few days, people of Potuluru and Ommangi villages of Prathipadu mandal are gripped by fear after a tiger movement was spotted, which reportedly killed two cattle in the area.

Based on the information provided by the farmers, forest officials visited the spot and noticed tiger pug marks and confirmed that a tiger killed the buffalos.

Following this, under the supervision of Kakinada District Forest Officer IKV Raju and Divisional Forest Officer (DF) Wildlife C Selvam, the forest officials of Kakinada and Rajahmundry wildlife management division inspected the dead cattle and suspected that a tiger might have killed them. They launched search operation and installed 20 cameras to track the cat. The officials created awareness about the presence of the tiger among the people of the area.

East Godavari district Wildlife Forest Ranger SSR Vara Prasad told 'The Hans India' that they have installed cameras to confirm whether the cattle was killed by a tiger or any other animal. He informed that they had detected pug marks in Prathipadu mandal. He added that due to recent rains, the tiger might have moved for shelter and water, which is abundantly available in the mandal and spotted the buffaloes and killed them.

So far, 30 cameras have been installed in the mandal to track the tiger. However, it is not certain that the tiger would stay at that place as it may move away from there.

Speaking with The Hans India, Wildlife Biologist D Mahesh said that the tigers are coming out as this is mating season. Usually the mating season is between November to April. Confirming that it was Royal Bengal tiger, he said the total body is 2 meters long. He explained that the tiger takes rest during day near the hill and hunt in the night.

'After killing the cattle, tiger consumed nearly 15 to 20 kgs of meat. After some time, it returned and killed another and consumed 5 more kgs of meat. Despite darkness it can easily detect the presence of other animals through its powerful smelling sense.'

He said forest officials are suspecting that the tiger might have come from Narsipatnam area. Stating that they will observe the tiger movement by installing some more cameras, he appealed the people not to allow their cattle to move during night or day. He also wanted them to inform the forest officials immediately if they observe the movements of tiger.

Kakinada District Forest Officer IKV Raju said that tiger killed only two cattle. Six special teams were formed to locate tiger movements, which located tiger presence at Pump house with a CCTV camera. Divisional Forest Officer (DF), Wildlife C Selvam said that after getting information from farmers regarding the presence of a tiger, they have installed cameras in Prathipadu mandal. They noticed tiger at Potuluru village with the help of CCTV cameras footage, he added.