Forest officials asked to capture 2 tigers: dead or alive

Forest officials in the Bramhapuri division of Chandrapur district of Maharashtra have been order to capture two tigers dead or alive. The two tigers are said to have killed 22 people in as many months, according to a report in the Daily News & Analysis (DNA).

Bramhapuri DFO Hrishikesh Ranjan told the newspaper, “For start, we have decided to trap the tigers as Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) has issued orders to this effect.”

“The area the two tigers roam in is about 30-km from the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. Three traps have been laid around Nanded, Kacchepar and Sonapur villages. If we cannot trap them, we will be left with no option but to kill them,” Ranjan said.

Since the kills were only dragged away and not all eaten up, the forest department has not yet declared the killer tigers as man-eaters. In fact, the two have shown a tendancy of attacking only humans while sparing their cattle.

According to the latest census conducted in this May, the reserve is host to 45 tigers, considered to be “saturation level population” for the area.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (wildlife) B Majumdar visited the area to take stock of the situation and explored the possibility of driving out the tigers by drum-beating and busting of fire-crackers, but he is still unsure if these measures would succeed.

Ranjan said, “Tranquilising the animals and releasing them in another area was also an option, but was later dropped as it’s very difficult.”

http://www.wildlifewatch.in/news/365