Maharashtra: Tigress on killing spree caged after month-long operation
The capturing orders were issued against the tigress on April 27 this year, soon after it killed a second human, but the feline kept evading the rescue teams
A tigress on a killing spree was tranquillised and captured by the forest department after a month-long operation on Saturday morning at Chandrapur in Maharashtra’s Saoli tehsil.
The operation was carried out by personnel from the state wildlife headquarters and the Rapid Response Team (RRT) of the wildlife wing in the shrubby forest patch near Vhyad Khurd village.
The capturing orders were issued against the tigress on April 27 this year, soon after it killed a second human, but the feline kept evading the rescue teams. Forest department had deployed a squad of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), two rapid response teams from Tadoba Tiger Project and Chandrapur along with the Primary Response Team (PRT) and local forest personnel of Saoli range. The area under threat was covered with the help of 6 live cameras and 50 camera traps to track the movement of the tigress.
A shepherd spotted the tigress in the forest near Vhyad Khurd village at around 10am on Saturday. Following this information, Range Forest Officer of the region, Pravin Virutkar mobilised two RRTs led by veterinary doctors Dr Ravikant Khobragade and Dr Kundam Podchalwar. However, the news of the tigress’ presence in shrubby forest area also spread like wildfire among villagers and large mob gathered in the area causing hindrance to the operation.
The team led by veterinary doctor, Dr Kobhragade first spotted the tigress in thick shrubs in forest compartment number 114 under Navegaon beat of Saoli range at around 11.30am and shooter Ajay Marathe lying over a rescue vehicle shot a dart at the feline from a distance of 15 metres. Soon after the tigress was sedated, it was captured and put into the cage.
The range forest officer, Virutkar said that the tigress was kept at the wildlife rescue centre at Chandrapur and may be relocated to other forest areas. The tigress may be shifted to Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) after consultation with the Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority officials, said a senior wildlife wing official.
Two tigers from Chandrapur have already been tranquillised and shifted to Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserves last week as part of a tiger translocation programme aimed at curbing the man-animal conflict in Chandrapur district. Besides, the relocation project was aimed to augment the tiger population in the low-density area of NNTR. It was the first translocation of tigers within the state.
