Tiger movement sparks panic among villagers in Mancherial

A female tiger roaming across villages in Bellampalli mandal of Mancherial district has caused panic among residents. Farmers are hesitant to harvest crops, while forest officials have deployed trackers, installed camera traps and issued safety advisories to villagers.

Mancherial: A resident tiger has been roaming across several villages in Bellampalli mandal for the past few days, triggering panic among locals.

Forest officials said a female tiger, which had been moving between the Devapur and Tiryani forest ranges, entered the Bellampalli range after crossing NH 363 through an eco bridge underpass. Its pugmarks were found on the outskirts of Cherlapalli and Chandravelli villages. Residents of these villages and those in surrounding Kannala, Laxmipuram and Yellaram were advised to remain cautious, the officials said.

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As the tiger moved along the outskirts of the villages for the first time in recent years, residents said they were living in fear. Several farmers said they were hesitant to harvest their cotton crop due to the tiger’s presence and urged forest officials to take steps to divert the animal into dense forest areas.

The officials said CCTV camera traps were installed and animal trackers deployed to monitor the tiger’s movement. They added that awareness programmes were conducted in the villages about the presence of the animal. Farmers were advised to move only in groups, if necessary, and to make noise while harvesting cotton to avoid any untoward incidents.

According to forest officials, the tiger migrated to Mancherial district from the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district around 10 months ago in search of territory. Since then, it has settled in the Devapur and Tiryani forest ranges and has been killing cattle grazing in the forests at regular intervals. The tiger is around 20 months old.