Gaur on walkathon, leaves Telangana, crosses Krishna, enters AP

Hyderabad: A gaur that walked from Karnataka to the Amrabad tiger reserve in Nagarkurnool district last April, has crossed over to the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam tiger reserve (NSTR) in AP. It was spotted by officials in the Atmakur forest range of the NSTR a few days ago.

The marathon walk of the gaur was reported in these columns on April 25, 2023.

To enter AP, the gaur had to cross River Krishna; that the back reaches of the river have very little water flow enabled it to cross the river safely.

The gaur entering NSTR is being viewed as the ‘return’ of the animal to AP, especially the NSTR forests, as large herds of the animal were once known to have lived in the Gundla Brahmeswaram sanctuary.

The gaur’s presence has given a fillip, according to AP forest department officials, to their reintroduction plans in the NSTR. “We have identified herds of gaur in Papikonda forests and its surrounding forest in the East and West Godavari districts for translocation,” an official said.

The AP forest department is waiting for a report on the translocation project from the Wildlife Institute of India and once the final nod comes, will begin bringing more gaur to the NSTR.

“This is a lone male, probably searching for its own kind. We hope it will stay till the translocation project starts, and it can finally be part of a herd,” the official said.