Missing tiger Jai that migrated 150km may have starved to death

NAGPUR: The most sought after tiger of the Umred-Karhandla tiger reserve that disappeared on April 19 this year appeared extremely tired and weak when it was last seen in Fetala forest beat of Paoni forest range.

Jai, the radio-collared tiger, entered the Umred forest in September 2013 by migrating nearly 150km from the NagziraNavegaon tiger reserve in Gondia-Bhandara district, crossing several villages and even the Mumbai-Kolkata national highway.

The tiger’s disappearance led to panic among wildlife lovers, NGOs, tourists, conservationists and forest officials.

There is, however, no evidence to show that it is still in the forest it once ruled.

A search operation launched by the forest department and several NGOs and wildlife lovers to trace the big cat was badly hit due to incessant rains in the region.

The forest department has formed many teams for the search and will map the entire area. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is also helping the teams in this regard.

Wildlife lovers Nitin Rahate and Pankaj Deshmukh, who clicked more than 100 pictures of the tiger on April 18, said Jai looked like he had gone several days without food.

Wildlife expert Dr Bilal Habib, who fitted Jai with the radio collar to last year, said the tracking device was not working as a result of which the wildlife wing was unable to trace the movement of the big cat.