PAPIKONDA NATIONAL PARK (ELURU)
A lone male tiger safely entered its natural habitat of Papikonda National Park (PNP) from the Eluru district side on February 6.
Sighted by the locals in a maize field on January 26, the tiger has walked above 100 kilometers before it entered into the PNP, through which the river Godavari flows. However, there was no record available on when and why the big cat left its natural habitat and entered into the agricultural fields and human habitations that are densely populated along its route.
No injuries
Eluru District Forest Officer Ravindra Dhama told The Hindu, “By Tuesday morning, the tiger has entered into the PNP. It is very healthy and no injury has been found on its body as shown in the CCTV footage and photos”. The Forest authorities did not disclose the details of the exact location, where the tiger entered into the national park to avoid any further threats to it.
“The tiger is now in its safe habitat, where threats to its movements are less compared to the human habitations. There are some tribal habitations inside the national park, where the tiger makes its moves. However, they do not harm the wildlife as they co-exist with it”, observed Mr. Ravindra Dhama.
The team of experts, led by the personnel from the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR), will continue to track the tiger movements until it completely settles down in the national park, where it gets abundant preys for food. “We will continue to track and watch the movements of the tiger inside the national park for some days”, said Mr. Ravindra Dhama.
Three tigers
In 2016, as many as three tigers were recorded during the survey conducted by the AP Forest Department. The PNP landscape was covered in the two Tiger Census -2018 and 2022. However, the National Tiger Conservation Authority did not disclose the tiger population in the PNP.
On the other hand, it was a sigh of relief for the local communities after the tiger left their areas, where agricultural operations and cattle rearing had to be stopped for some days in the Eluru district.
