Tigress, cub captured in south Kheri forest division area
The elusive tigress on the prowl near Muda Javahar village with her two cubs had become a matter of concern since April 12, when a villager Munna Lal had been left injured in the big cat’s attack
Patrolling for over a week and combing of the Maheshpur range areas ended in relief on Wednesday when the south Kheri forest department officials successfully traced and tranquilised a tigress from near Muda Javahar village.
The elusive tigress on the prowl near Muda Javahar village with her two cubs had become a matter of concern since April 12, when a villager Munna Lal had been left injured in the big cat’s attack. Munna Lal was fortunate to have survived the attack. However, the movement of the tigress created panic among the villagers.
Forest officials also captured a nine-month-old female cub of the tigress in a net while another male cub evaded capture, said Sanjay Biswal, divisional forest officer (DFO), south Kheri.
Biswal said patrolling teams were combing the area to locate and capture the other cub.
He said that after permission from the UP chief wildlife warden on April 19 to tranquilise the tigress on the prowl near Muda Jawahar village, away from reserved forest areas, forest teams along with veterinary experts Dr Daya Shankar from Dudhwa and Dr Deepak from Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary were combing the area to locate the tigress and her two cubs.
Two elephants from Dudhwa National Park- Sulochana and Dyna- had been engaged to facilitate in smooth combing and locating the big cat.
DFO Sanjay Biswal said on Wednesday, the patrolling teams traced the elusive tigress in a field and veterinary experts tranquilised the tigress. One of her two cubs was also caught in a net.
He said both were brought to range headquarters, where both were found healthy and fit.
He said further action regarding release of the big cat would be taken as per direction from the authorities.
Biswal said that the movement of big cats near Muda Jawahar village had become a matter of serious concern since September 2024, when two persons had been killed in big cat attacks in quick succession.
He said efforts to trace and capture the big cat had failed then due to cane farms and adverse weather conditions.
DEO KANT PANDEY
