Posted: Updated – 10:31PM Wed – 11/16/22
From 2015 to 2022, at least five tigress gave birth to about 16 cubs.
Kumram Bheem Asifabad: The forests of Kumram Bheem Asifabad have become a breeding ground for tigers amid concerns about disturbing human-animal conflict, much to the cheers of the forestry department and conservationists. From 2015 to 2022, at least five tigress gave birth to about 16 cubs.
However, in an alarming trend, three people have been killed by tigers in the past two years. On November 11, 2020, a tiger named A2, which had migrated from Maharashtra to the region’s recent history, killed 22-year-old Sidam Vignesh in Digida village, Dahegaon mandal. On 20 November, the same tiger killed an 18-year-old tribal girl, Pasula Nirmal, in Kondapalli village, Penchikalpet mandal.
In the latest incident, Sidam Bheem, a 69-year-old tribal farmer, was allegedly killed by a tiger while picking cotton balls in a field in the small village of Gondapur below Wankidi mandal Choupanguda village on Tuesday. The loss of three lives has become a cause of concern for the public and forest officials.
Meanwhile, despite these concerns, the region’s dry, deciduous forests have become safe breeding grounds for tigresses and safe cradles for their cubs, despite growing human-animal conflict in the region.
This can be attributed to forest officials’ ongoing efforts to create ecosystems to protect the nation’s animals and to involve local people in protecting solitary animals.
From 2015 to 2021, five tigresses gave birth to 10 to 18 cubs, according to officials. A few days ago, a tigress named S-13 gave birth to 3 cubs in the Kaghaznagar forest division. “Special measures are being taken to protect the cubs and their mother. Their movements are regularly tracked,” a forest official told Telangana Today.
In 2021, in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) near Chandrapur, Maharashtra, a tigress named S-6 entered the forest in the area and gave birth to two cubs. Similarly, K8, another tigress belonging to the Maharashtra State Wildlife Sanctuary, also gave birth to three cubs last year. They grew up and separated from their mother. They are currently moving through the forests of the district, Mancherial, Peddapalli and Prof Jayashankar Bhupalpally districts.
In 2015, a tigress named Phalguna drifted into the region’s forests and gave birth to eight cubs in two litters over a period of time. Cubs migrate to the Mancherial area in search of territory and food. Until 2018, one of its cubs, named K4, was moving through the forests of Kinnur with an iron snare wrapped around its abdomen. So far, its every move has not been recorded by CCTV cameras.
In addition to establishing 12 base camps and forming a 60-strong anti-poaching squad, 40 animal trackers have been deployed to monitor the movements of the big cats, said G Dinesh Kumar, district forest officer. He said a proposal to recruit more than 20 trackers was being prepared given the increased activity of tigers and cubs in the forest.
