ADILABAD: Residents of villages on the peripheries of forests as well as big cats like tigers and wildlife are facing a serious threat to their lives from live wires erected by poachers and farmers in Adilabad district.
While poachers erect live wires to kill predatory animals for their hide and antelopes for their meat, farmers do so to safeguard their crops from wild boars and fend off stray tigers.
According to recent reports and sightings, eight tigers have been seen in the Kagaznagar forest division of Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district, where human habitations have come up in the big cat corridor.
There has been an increase in the movement of tigers in the forests of Kosini, Vempalli and Ankusapur, as they are reportedly migrating into the state from the Tadoba Andhari reserve in neighbouring Maharashtra. Leopards were also found to be using corridors in Kosini and Vempalli.
Farmers say that big cats enter their fields, and villages, in pursuit of wild boars. Penchikalpet forest range officer (FRO) S. Venugopal said wild boars could be controlled and ways could be found to co-exist with tigers instead of setting up live electric wires. He said leopards and wild bears also target wild boars.
Venugopal said the newly migrated tigers are trying to create their territories, up to Tadwai in Mulugu district and Neelvai of Chennur in Mancherial district.
The police, meanwhile, are trying to check poaching through pre-emptive measures, such as tracking repeat offenders and seizing equipment used for poaching from them.
On December 29, 2022, Dahegaon police arrested three villagers of Odduguda village. Kumaram Bheem Asifabad’s police superintendent (SP) K. Suresh said that 10 persons were booked for poaching attempts by erecting live wires in December 2022.
On January 2, seven villagers of Yapalguda in Pembi mandal were arrested for killing a nilgai and trying to sell its meat, Pembi forest range officer (FRO) Ramakrishna said. The area falls under Kawal Tiger Reserve.
