The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Tiger seen on Srisailam highway

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Tiger seen on Srisailam highway

N. Rahul

Big cat sighted at 3.30 p.m. by Forest Department driver

Tiger could be three to four years old
Estimated 60-70 tigers on either banks of Krishna

HYDERABAD: An unusual phenomenon unfolded on the Hyderabad-Srisailam highway near Farahabad, 150 km from here, a few days ago when a well-grown tiger ran across the road in broad daylight.

The tiger was sighted around 3.30 p.m. by a jeep driver of the Forest Department who was driving past through the stretch with forest on either side. Senior forest officials expressed a surprise that the big cat was noticed at that hour when it was known to rest. They feel the animal might have strayed on to the road in search of water.

A.Shankaran, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Atchampet, told The Hindu that the tiger could be three to four years old, an age when it normally breaks away from its mother and establishes its own territory in the forest.

Second time?

He expected the tiger to be the one seen with its mother near a water point at Jeelgaikunta of the same area in January, a scene witnessed by a forest patrol.

Farahabad, an ideal location for eco-tourism, is part of the 3,563 sq. km. core area of the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam tiger sanctuary. Forest officials have estimated the presence of 60 to 70 tigers on either banks of the Krishna that meandered through the sanctuary.

The figure, however, varies sharply from the 40 tigers enumerated in the area by an all-India census conducted by the Central Government.

Officials said the population of 60 to 70 tigers in the sanctuary had been stable for the last six to eight years. They regularly noticed pugmarks and scat (droppings) of the tigers during their field visits.

About 40 cattle were killed by wild animals, mainly tigers, in Atchampet division alone in 2007-08. The cattle owners were promptly paid compensation, lest they did not kill the tigers by mixing poison in the carcass. The tigers and panthers devoured the remains along with poison during their subsequent visit to the kills.

Cat rescued

A.K. Naik, Conservator and Field Director of Project Tiger, said the tiger was also seen in Markapur and Atmakur divisions of the sanctuary recently.

The cat that fell into an open well while hunting its prey near Marripalem village of Dornal mandal was rescued with the help of a ramp made of bamboo.

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