ELURU
The Forest Department is all set to tranquillise a tiger that has strayed into the maize fields near the Eluru forest range, reportedly after it moved out of its natural habitat of Papikonda National Park (PNP) over three days ago.
On January 26, the local people sighted the tiger in a maize field on the outskirts of Perugudem village in Eluru district. On being alerted about the movement of a tiger, the forest officials on Saturday zeroed in on the spot, and traced a trail of pugmarks indicating its recent route.
“Our field survey and the route through which we have traced the pugmarks, indicate that the lone tiger has come out of the PNP, which is believed to be its natural habitat,” Eluru District Forest Officer Ravindra Dhama told The Hindu.
“A few days ago, we sighted pugmarks adjacent to the PNP, which indicates that the tiger could have come out of its natural habitat,” added Mr. Ravindra Dhama.
So far, the tiger did not resort to any cattle killing while moving through the maize fields.
An expert committee will arrive on Sunday to launch the search operation, which includes driving the big cat back to its natural habitat or tranquillising it. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has consented to send the officials whose services were sought by the A.P. Forest Department.
“The experts from the Nagarjuna Sagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) will be leading the rescue operation. They are expected to arrive with all the required tranquilisers,” said Ravindra Dhama.
‘’We urge local people to alert the forest staff if they sight the tiger in any location and avoid driving cattle close to the location where the pugmarks were found,” he said. Forest staff can be contacted on toll-free number 1800-425-5909.
