Rehmankheda: More cages deployed as tiger stays out of reach
The tiger is suspected to have strayed into the area from another district as pictures of its shoulder blades do not have a match in the database of tigers captured during a census.
Ramping up the number of cages is how the forest department’s plans to catch an elusive tiger in Rehmankheda. The move is as per the suggestions of experts from Wildlife Institute of India who conducted a field visit of the area recently.
“We are now increasing the number of cages as per the advice of experts, who said that our strategy to catch the tiger was fine but it needed to intensified on the same lines,” said Sitanshu Pandey, the divisional forest officer (DFO) of Awadh Range. The team from the institute visited Rehmankheda on Friday and made the suggestions thereafter.
Under this strategy, the number of trapping cages with a bait placed inside has been increased from four to seven. Also, the number of baits in open fields have been increased that are being watched from watch towers.
Explaining further, Pandey said, “Additional cages will help us lure the tiger to come and eat the bait. As all bait are under watch, our tranqualising teams will get better and more opportunity to hit the dart.” Also, two teams were scanning the area with the help of elephants.
The tiger is suspected to have strayed into the area from another district as pictures of its shoulder blades do not have a match in the database of tigers captured during a census.
On Saturday, fresh pugmarks were spotted around Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, which is located in Zone One and Zone Two areas. Foot patrolling was done in Zone One and also the connecting road between both zones.
The tiger has been reportedly prowling in Rehmankheda since December 10 last year and has made 19 kills so far. No humans have been hurt by the wild cat. Experts from Lucknow, Barabanki, Sitapur and Lakhimpur are continuously monitoring the ongoing rescue operation.