Tiger safety: Forest dept turns to police for support in Adilabad

Unconfirmed reports of a tiger being shot dead by poachers along the Nizamabad‑Jagtial border have raised alarm among forest officials. With two tigers currently settled in the region, the Adilabad forest department is planning to rope in the police for intelligence support to strengthen anti‑poaching measures.

Adilabad: Amid unconfirmed news of the killing of a tiger in the forests of a neighbouring district, the forest department is now preparing to enlist the support of the police department to safeguard tigers and curb poaching of wild animals.

A male tiger, which was last tracked in Bheemangal mandal of Nizamabad district, is feared to have been shot dead by poachers along Nizamabad-Jagtial borders. While the Forest officials have not confirmed its death, the incident has heightened concerns over the safety of tigers wandering in the wild of the district. Presently, two tigers are said to have settled in the forests of the region.

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Traditionally, the forest department relies on animal trackers, local grazers and camera traps to closely monitor both migrant and resident tigers in the wild. It depends on local grazers to alert authorities about the movement of strangers and unknown persons in the forest. It installs camera traps to detect suspicious activity and movement of poachers in the wild.

The safety measures seem to be effectively helping the department in checking poaching of tigers with the district not seeing any killings of the animals in recent times. Evidently, tigers from neighboring Maharashtra continue to move into the district. They are not being harmed during their stay in the forests. However, the department is considering a new strategy.

“We are planning to rely on the intelligence system of the police department to safeguard the tigers. A letter will soon be written to the Superintendent of Police of the district seeking their help in protecting the tigers residing in the wild with poaching becoming a route affair,” District Forest Officer Prashant B Patil told ‘Telangana Today’.

The Forest officials are leaving no stone unturned to prevent the killing of the tigers by poachers. They are refraining from disclosing the number of tigers moving in the district or their locations. Their move is aimed at avoiding the attention of poachers in line with guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Meanwhile, Forest officials from Mancherial district denied reports that an elusive tiger had entered Kawal Tiger Reserve. They clarified that no movement of a tiger was recorded in the camera traps installed in the reserve in recent times. They stated that field staff have been instructed to remain vigilant in case the tiger drifts into the reserve.

The sub-adult tiger from Maharashtra’s Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary had earlier entered Boath forests supposedly in search of a mate last November. Since then, it has roamed across 14 districts including Nirmal, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Siddipet, Rajanna-Sircilla, Yadadri, Bhongir, Karimnagar and Peddapalli so far, surprising the officials with its extensive journey.