Tiger kills ninth cattle in Jangaon, officials intensify rescue efforts

A wandering tiger that entered Telangana from Maharashtra nearly two months ago has killed its ninth cattle in Jangaon district, sparking panic among villagers. The tiger, moving across non-forest areas of Jangaon, Siddipet and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts, killed a calf in Mandelagudem village before disappearing into vegetation.

Hyderabad: The wandering tiger continued to spread panic in villages of Jangaon district of Telangana after it made its ninth kill at the Mandelagudem village, Raghunathpally mandal, after travelling nearly 28 km by road, from Kundaram village of Lingalaghanpur mandal where it was spotted on Thursday.

The tiger that is believed to have made its way from Maharashtra into the State nearly two months ago, is wandering in the non-forest areas of Jangaon, Siddipet and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts for the last 20 days.

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On Friday in the early hours, the tiger killed a calf belonging to a farmer P Raju, at Mandelagudem village. On information, the local forest officials along with tiger trackers reached the spot and checked for the pugmarks of the tiger.

The tiger after killing the calf left the place and disappeared into the thickly vegetative patches on the village outskirts. The forest officials camped throughout the day in the fields. The special team from Pune, who were called to assist the forest officials, used drones to track the tiger but did not get any clues.

The tiger so far killed nine cattle in the three districts after it was first spotted near Ibrahimpur village in Turkapally mandal of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district on January 17. The tiger frequently changed its direction. 

Initially, it travelled from North towards South, and then went in reverse direction. Then in the last week of January, it moved towards South-West then three days ago it headed in the East direction and now moving towards North direction.

Forest officials had maintained that it is a dispersed sub-adult moving around in search of a mate or to establish its territory.

Suvarna, PCCF (HoFF) and Chief Wildlife Warden, said specialized Tiger Rescue Teams from Tadoba-Andhari and Pune have been mobilized to assist local authorities in real-time monitoring and assessment.

Towards Friday evening, people of Manchupahad village in Raghunathpally mandal were asked to be on alert after a farmer heard the tiger growls.

The forest department and the police on information reached the spot and searched the area. However, there were no signs of pugmarks. The villagers however have been asked to remain alert.