Tiger hunt intensifies in Siddipet, villagers relocate livestock

Forest officials in Telangana have stepped up efforts to capture a tiger that has been roaming across Siddipet, Jangaon and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts for over a month, killing 18 cattle in 12 villages.

Chowdaram (Siddipet): The forest department has initiated efforts to tranquilize the wandering tiger that has been spreading fear in villages of Siddipet district for the past few days.

The local veterinary doctors, along with special ‘ResQ’ from Pune, set up an ambush at Shingaram village outskirts on Thursday night. A cage with bait was set up and teams sat all night in the vicinity waiting for the tiger.

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However, the tiger did not turn up. It moved west towards Chowdaram village during the night. The villagers noticed the pugmarks of the tiger in the morning and informed the forest officials. The teams then headed to the Chowdaram village and set up a cage trap in a reserve forest where the movement is being tracked.

The forest officials closed down the road between Chowdaram and Gundaram villages that passes through the reserve forest. The power supply to the agricultural fields was suspended. The villages within 15 km were alerted and advised to stay away from fields in the evening and early morning.

Fearing attack on cattle, the farmers in the surrounding moved their livestock to safer enclosures within the villages. “We have been alerting the villagers about the presence of the tiger in the reserve forest since last night. The power department was asked to suspend power supply to farms,” said Forest Range Officer, (Siddipet) Syed Ikramuddin.

Compared to other areas the tiger has roamed in recent days, the present location is a reserve forest with thick vegetation and hilly area giving a safe cover to the tiger to stay away from drone surveillance.

The tiger has been wandering across Siddipet, Jangaon and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts for over a month. It entered Telangana from Maharashtra around two months ago. It has so far killed 18 cattle in about 12 villages in the districts.