Hyderabad: Panic has gripped farmers in villages across Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Siddipet and Jangaon districts after a sub-adult dispersing tiger made its ninth kill at Raghunathpally mandal in Jangaon district of Telangana.
The tiger has been moving across the three districts for nearly 20 days. Forest officials believe it may be in search of a mate or attempting to establish its territory. While its origin remains unclear, officials suspect it could be the tiger that has been missing for the past two months from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Tiger kills calf in Mandlegudam
On Friday, the tiger killed a calf at Mandlegudam village in Raghunathpally mandal. The owner, P Raju, said he had left the cattle in the shed overnight and found the calf dead the next morning. Forest officials who visited the spot along with trackers found tiger pugmarks in the area.
“I suffered a huge loss due to the tiger attack. The officials did not give any prior warning about the tiger’s movement in the mandal. It suddenly appeared and killed the cattle,” Raju said.
Tiger kills cow in Sharjapet
Three days earlier, at Sharajpet village in Alair mandal, the tiger killed a cow belonging to village upa-sarpanch B Sridhar. According to Sridhar, the cattle was kept in a shed on the village outskirts when the tiger attacked it at night, licked the blood and moved towards Kundaram village.
“The cow was over five years old. The government will provide compensation, which is fine. But many farmers are suffering, and there is no visible action from the government,” Sridhar said.
Farmers safeguard cattle
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Following repeated attacks, farmers in several villages have shifted their cattle to safer locations. “Many farmers are moving their cattle closer to their houses in the village.
However, some continue to keep them in the fields due to a lack of space. Shifting one or two cattle is possible, but some farmers own eight to ten animals,” said Anjaneyulu, a farmer from Turkapally mandal.
Forest officials said teams are tracking the tiger and guarding cattle carcasses. “Teams are deployed at cattle kill sites as per protocol. The carcass is guarded for 48 hours to prevent poisoning,” a forest official said.
Officials said there have been instances in the past where frustrated farmers poisoned carcasses to target tigers when they return to feed, prompting strict enforcement of the protocol.
