The Maharashtra forest department on Wednesday tranquillised and captured a two-year-old sub-adult tigress (T2C1) near the Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal days after the big cat killed a 60-year-old woman at a farm on Saturday. The tigress earlier attacked a farmer on September 4 and has killed at least six cattle and goats, triggering panic in the area.
Forest officials said the tigress was regularly being spotted through camera trap images moving across four villages and the Pandharkawada Forest Reserve.
“Around 10.30 am Wednesday, the tigress was darted at an agricultural field less than two km away from TWS [Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary]. She was tranquillised... and the operation was carried out smoothly as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority protocol,” said chief conservator of forests (Yavatmal) S V Ramarao.
Two veterinary doctors, eight Special Tiger Protection Force officers, two rapid rescue teams, and 40 forest personnel were part of the team that captured the tigress.
Ramarao said they deputed the large team to ensure the tigress was captured with any untoward incident. “Citizens had been advised not to leave their homes nor allow their cattle to stray [during the operation].”
Maharashtra’s principal chief conservator of forests, Nitin Kakodkar, on Monday issued orders for the capture under the Wildlife Protection Act, which provides for declaring a protected wild animal a threat or danger to human life.
{{/usCountry}}Maharashtra’s principal chief conservator of forests, Nitin Kakodkar, on Monday issued orders for the capture under the Wildlife Protection Act, which provides for declaring a protected wild animal a threat or danger to human life.
{{/usCountry}}“We are yet to decide whether she would be transferred to Gorewada Rescue Centre or another transit treatment centre in Nagpur. ...we will be consulting the state-appointed committee [that decides on the rehabilitation of big cats captured from the wild due to conflict]... for the future course of action,” said Kakodkar.
T2C1 was captured in the same district, where two private hunters hired by the forest department killed tigress Avni in 2018 under questionable circumstances after she was said to have killed 13 people.
State Board for Wildlife member Kishor Rithe said conflict incidents are common in the Chandrapur-Brahmapuri landscape, but similar cases have started in the Yavatmal-Tipeshwar landscape since Avni’s case. “It is a problem of managing the area. Our committee will review all previous conflict incidents pertaining to this tigress. If the animal is fit to be released, she will be, and the set procedure will be followed.”
T2C1 is the fifth big cat to be captured in Maharashtra this year after human-animal conflict.
Wildlife Protection Society of India director (central India) Nitin Desai said since T2C1 had become a problem animal and lost all fear of human beings, she needed to be captured. “For the larger cause of tiger conservation, these animals need to be removed and it is part of the tiger conservation strategy.”
Operations are separately underway to capture another tiger (RT1) at Rajura since February when it killed six villagers.