Hyderabad: After a gap of nearly two years, a tiger has was sighted in the Kawal Tiger Reserve in Telangana. Forest department officials noticed that the big cat was moving in the Jannaram division. Soon after its movement was recorded the officials had set up CCTV camera traps to record and trail the big cat.
“The pugmarks of the tiger were recorded. The beat officers and animal trackers are monitoring its movement,” said District Forest Officer Shiv Aasheesh Singh. All efforts were being made to ensure safety of the tiger and its stay in the tiger reserve, he added.
To avoid man-animal conflict, Telangana Forest Department officials also started awareness among the people staying in fringe villages located near the forest. The inhabitants were requested them not to harm the tiger since it was a shy animal.
According to reports, the tiger named S-12, initially stayed in the forests of Kaghaznagar division for about three months recently. It crossed the busy national highway 363 in Asifabad mandal and was sighted near opencast mining projects of SCCL at Kairiguda village in Rebbena mandal. It then moved into forests of Tiryani mandal from where it strayed into the core of the reserve.
The 42nd reserve of the country was created in 2012. The core of the reserve spreads in 893 sq km, the buffer zone spans 1,120 sq km. The reserve registered poaching of two tigers in 2018. No tiger has resided in the reserve since then. However, a migrant tiger stayed in Kaddam Peddur range for a brief period in 2022.
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