Tiger returns to Warangal
Cow carcass, pug marks indicate big cat is back
The tiger, it appears, may have returned to the former unified Warangal district.
The finding of pug marks of a tiger, believed to be a female, in the Nimmagudem forest in Mahamutharam mandal of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district, marks the return of the big cat to the forests in the former Warangal district after more than a decade.
The pug marks were found after villagers informed forest department officials about the carcass of a cow in the forest.
According to district forest officer (DFO) K. Purushotham, the evi
dence from the pug marks pointed to the presence of a tigress in the area.
The officials also found signs — pug marks of the tiger and hoof marks of a calf and a cow — that indicated that while the calf managed to escape, the cow fell prey to the tiger.
With the presence of a tiger in the area causing some alarm among local villagers, forest depart
THE OFFICIALS found pug marks of the tiger and hoof marks of a calf and a cow — that indicated that while the calf managed to escape, the cow fell prey to the tiger. Forest officials told people not to venture out
ment officials have alerted people to be careful and not venture into the forest.
Forest Section Officer Veeranna said announcements were made in the villages around the area where the tiger’s pug marks were found asking people not to take their cattle into the forest for grazing.
Residents of villages in the area, who were apprehensive about their safety after the appearance of a tiger in the forest, have not had to contend with a tiger for more than a decade now.
The last time a tiger was seen in former Warangal district was in Kothaguda forest area of Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary in 2009, Purushotham said. And the last time a tiger was seen in Karimnagar district, in the Mahadevpur forest area was in 2002, he said.
“The tigress moving in Nimmagudem could have come from the Indravati tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh or from Tadoba tiger reserve in Maharashtra. It might have got held up in Nimmaguda forests due to floods,” Purushotham said.