Forest department to use drones to track big cat movement

Concerned about the increase in tiger attacks on people and cattle in villages bordering the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Dudhwa and Pilibhit, the UP forest department has decided to deploy drones to keep a watch on the movement of big cats.

The decision comes on the heels of the death of a 45-year-old farmer of Nankar village in Lakhimpur Kheri on Monday. According to officials, four others have been injured in tiger attacks in the area since December 28.

Forest officials monitoring the area have confirmed the presence of at least six tigers who have reportedly been causing panic among the villagers.

Apart from cameras and cage traps, officials are now also going to use drones to comb the area with the help of experts from the Wildlife Trust of India. “We are going to use drone cameras to track the movement of tigers,” said divisional forest officer Samir Kumar.

Meanwhile, villagers are taking their own precautions to stay safe.

“We don’t venture out to our fields once it gets dark. We have already lost several of our livestock to these random attacks, which are increasing by the day,” said Mukesh Kumar, resident of a village adjacent to the Maheshpur forest area. He said the villagers had also approached the forest officials to take steps to prevent such attacks and restrict the movement of big cats.

However, forest officials maintain that big cat attacks increase during winter.

“Tiger attacks are reported more during winter, as the animals move out of the forest to agricultural lands, especially sugarcane fields, in search of prey,” said an officer of the forest department.

He said the department had issued an advisory to the villagers, asking them not to venture out alone and move in groups near forest areas.

“We have also offered help and compensation to the people living in villages in the proximity of Dudhwa and Pilibhit tiger reserves to help them relocate, but none of them want to move out of the area,” he said.

Bheera block under Dudhwa tiger reserve is considered to be one of the most vulnerable regions as far as such attacks are concerned. A 55-year-old farmer of the area (of Tanda village under Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary) was injured in a tiger attack on January 1. Paragu Bihari, the farmer, was admitted to the primary health centre in Bheera with injuries in both hands and right leg. He was going to tend to his field when a tiger lunged at him from a nearby cane field.

According to forest officials, five attacks have been reported in the past week alone. While one person was killed, the others received injuries and had to undergo treatment.