Tiger continues to stay in Mancherial forests

Forest officials say animal trackers were deployed to track the movement of the big cat

Mancherial: A tiger which was sighted directly by the forest officials in a canal, continued to stay in the forests of Dubbagudem village for the second day on Wednesday.

The forest officials said that though no fresh pugmarks of the tiger were recorded anywhere, it continued to stay in the forests.

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Six CCTV camera traps were installed at different locations possibly visited by the tiger.

Animal trackers were deployed to track the movement of the tiger. Awareness was created among the villagers over the presence of the tiger.

On Tuesday morning, forest beat officers Shankar, Yugandar, and Kumara Swamy were shocked when they confronted the female tiger in a canal barely 10 10 metres away when they were perambulating. The tiger, however, disappeared from the spot soon after noticing the officials. The officials recorded its pugmarks near the canal.

According to the officials, the tiger migrated to the district from Tiryani mandal of neighbouring Jagtial district in search of territory a few weeks ago.

It was roaming in the forests of Kannala village in Bellampalli mandal till Monday. It strayed into the forests of Dubbagudem village under Mancherial forest division on Tuesday. A female tiger that drifted towards the district from Kumram Bheem Asifabad has already been residing in the forests since the third week of December.

The arrival of the two tigresses has brought cheer to the officials but has triggered panic among villagers as the big cats are being sighted in plains, cotton fields and near human settlements at regular intervals.