Caught on cam: Tiger stays put in Lucknow’s Rehmankheda

A tiger lurking in Rehmankheda that has mostly been successful in eluding detection despite numerous efforts to spot it since December 14, was finally caught in a camera trap attached to an electric pole on Friday. The image is the first such of the big cat since the search operation began on the outskirts of Lucknow.

“The tiger was near the control room in Rehmankheda when it was caught on camera between 4 am and 5 am. Also, pugmarks were spotted in Mandauli village near a ‘nallah’ around 9.30 am,” said Sitanshu Pandey, the divisional forest officer (DFO) of Awadh Range.

The DFO said a team from the Kanpur Zoo had come prepared with nets and other gadgets to rescue the tiger. “This and further tracking should help us in carrying out the rescue operation,” he added.

However, a decision on the rescue operation would be taken by Sunday as the team was looking for a good place to corner the tiger before it could be rescued. “Once the team is able to corner the tiger, and assess its health and general condition, only then a decision regarding the rescue operation will be taken,” he said.

“Tranquiliser will only be used once we prepare a final plan of the operation,” said Pandey. Locals were given firecrackers to scare away the tiger if they spotted it.

Meanwhile, teams conducted a search operation in Sahilabad, Sahilamau and Khalispur, Tikaitganj during the day. Previously, the tiger was captured in a drone camera. Locals have been explained about dos and don’ts in the wake of the tiger’s presence and asked not to go out of homes when it was dark.