Hyderabad:The tiger that has been creating panic in KB Asifabad district over the past few days, is believed to be hungry, and possibly in a very irritable state, having been chased from place to place. State forest department officials are desperately hoping that the tiger returns home to Maharashtra. The tiger is believed to be near the inter-state border.
One part of this plan, it is reliably learnt, is to allow the tiger — believed to be a male aged between three and five years — to continue to go
hungry, something which it has done for the past one week. Though the tiger over the past week has killed some four animals including a sheep, a cow and a buffalo near different villages, it could not feed on any of its kills as it was chased away by locals.
The carcasses of animals killed by this tiger so far “had to be burnt as there is a genuine fear that villagers might poison the carcass. The tiger,
if it returns to feed on the carcass, could die of poisoning,” a source familiar with the goings on, said. The destruction of the carcass has meant
that the has been hungry for the several days. Tigers typically need to feed at least once a week, if not more frequently, and this particular one has not done so in a week. A fallback action plan – where a couple of buffaloes are to be released in an area where the tiger is and letting it feed in peace — has been put in place, it is learnt.
A carcass poisoning incident earlier this January in the same district saw two tigers dying after they consumed part of the cattle carcass. One was a male tiger which had killed the ox, and the other was its sub-adult cub.
Meanwhile, there is increasing concern over the tiger’s boldness in not shying away from human habitations. “This is not typical tiger behaviour.This kind of roaming near villages, walking on the road is unnatural. The worst-case scenario could be it is infected with rabies, as big cats are known to attack and consume stray dogs,” a source with long expertise in tiger affairs, and who has been following the developments in KB Asifabad district closely, said.
“This, of course, is only a surmise from its behaviour of attacking cattle, biting, and not killing. This was not the case when it was moving in the
Wankidi, Boath, and Nirmal ranges where it was calm. Now its behaviour has changed completely,” the source said.
According to officials, the Asifabad tiger was born and raised in a human dominated landscape in Maharashtra, and records of its movements so far indicate that it shows no reservations when it comes to going near, or entering villages. “This one is a walker and has been going around quite rapidly. So far it has covered around 400 km between the two states,” an forest official said.
“When there is a doubt, officials collect samples from the tiger bite sites and send them to a lab for testing for rabies even if the suspicion is
remote. If rabies is confirmed, then the tiger must be captured, and either allowed to pass away naturally, or put to sleep,” Dr H.S. Prayag, chief veterinary officer, and a wildlife forensics expert from the department of animal husbandry and veterinary science in the Karnataka government, said.
“Every bite from a tiger with rabies is dangerous to the rest of the forest animals.”
Dr Prayag said the Telangana forest department must consult with the National Tiger Conservation Authority, and take steps to first capture the
tiger, as it has already attacked two people, one of whom was killed.
