Tigress on prowl keeps locals on edge in Bhupalpally

Bhupalpally: For the first time in more than a decade, the movement of a tigress sent the wildlife wing into a tizzy. The people residing in the habitat of Nimmaguda forest in Pegadapally range under Mahadevpur division in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district woke up to a shocker on Sunday morning only to learn that a tiger is on the prowl in their neighbourhood and it had also killed a cow. The villagers who identified pugmarks around the buffalo and in the vicinity informed the forest officials.

Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district forest officer K Purushotham who confirmed the news told The Hans India, "Based on the pugmarks found in the area, it appears like a tigress. The footprints on the spot also indicate that a calf had managed to escape in the incident while the cow fell to the tigress." According to the DFO, although the incident might have occurred about three days ago, with rains around, the incident came to light on Sunday.

Further, he said that besides cautioning the locals not to venture into the thickets, they have installed two camera traps in the forest where the cow was hunted.

The DFO suspected that the tigress might have strayed into the thickets of Nimmaguda crossing river Godavari from Indravathi Tiger Reserve, Chhattisgarh or from Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra. It was suspected that the tigress might have crossed the river downstream Kaleshwaram where Godavari narrows near Somnoor (Maharashtra). Of late, there was a spike in the population of tigers in Tadoba Tiger Reserve. The tigress could have strayed in from there, he added.

A peek into the presence of tigers in the region suggests that there was no movement of tigers in over a decade. The last time a tiger was sighted near Mahadevpur (then in Karimnagar district) was in 2002. Thereafter, in 2009 a tiger was sighted at Rampur forest area under Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary in Kothaguda forest area (now in Mahabubabad district).

The forest officials say that shrinkage of the tiger habitat, biotic interference, poaching and timber smuggling – all led to the depletion of tiger population in the region. The decrease in grassland habitat on which the herbivores feed due to Podu cultivation is also one of the reasons for the disappearance of tigers since 2005.