Transient tiger returns to Mancherial after straying towards Ramagundam

A transient tiger that briefly moved towards Ramagundam has returned to Mancherial and is now roaming near coal mines in Srirampur. Forest officials have stepped up surveillance as multiple tigers remain close to human settlements.

Mancherial: A transient tiger which moved towards Ramagundam in Peddapalli district after crossing Godavari river returned to the district.

Forest officials said that the tiger returned to the district and was now moving around coal mines and opencast projects near Srirampur for the last two days. The tiger apparently could not find the landscape in and around Ramagundam conducive and returned to the district and was sighted in places where it used to stay a few weeks back.

---

The tiger moved from Maharashtra to the district after crossing Kumram Bheem Asifabad district in the first week of this December. It initially entered Kannepalli forests and then strayed into Jaipur forests before reaching the mining area triggering a panic among coal miners.

Already, another tiger has been moving around the coal mines in Srirampur for over three weeks. Forest officials laid a special focus on the tigers considering their current place is located close to human settlements and to ensure safety of the tigers. They installed 50 CCTV cameras to capture images of the tigers and deployed 20 trackers to trail the wild animals, besides creating awareness among the public.

According to the officials, there were five tigers including two female and three male tigers. The presence of a comparatively higher number of tigers for the first time in recent times has delighted environment enthusiasts and officials as well.

Meanwhile, a female tiger recently set its foot in the core of Kawal Tiger Reserve after a gap of four years, but drifted towards Kamareddy district by crossing Godavari in Nirmal district a few days back. Forest officials expressed concern over its safety considering the increased threat of poaching to wildlife in Kamareddy.