Elusive tigress kills buffalo in Mancherial, triggers panic among local residents

The big cat, roaming in the district for the past two months, killed a buffalo in the forests of Dampur village in Bheemaram mandal

Mancherial: An elusive migrant tigress, roaming in different parts of the district for the past two months, killed a buffalo in the forests of Dampur village in Bheemaram mandal on Thursday, sparking panic among the locals.

Officials said that the tigress wandering in the forests near Nennal strayed into the forest of Dampur apparently in its quest to demarcate its territory on Wednesday. It then killed the cattle grazing in the forest. Five CCTV cameras were installed, while a team of seven officials was closely watching its movement.

The tigress, B1, was earlier sighted in Bellampalli, Nennal, and Kasipet mandals. It killed two wild boars in Bellampalli range before entering Nennal forests. It was spotted at a nursery at Bopparam village in Nennal mandal. It moved to the forests of Chittapur and Potyal forests known for poaching of wild animals, without facing a danger to its life. It was now roaming in the forests of Bheemaram.

The adult tigress is reportedly showing aberrant behaviour by moving in the plains rather than forests. It is not settling in a forest as it constantly moves from one landscape to another. From Kumram Bheem Asifabad it drifted towards the district in search of a suitable territory in December. B1 was the second tigress to migrate to the district in recent times, cheering the forest officials. Another tigress from Kumram Bheem Asifabad district has already drifted towards the forests of the district and has been roaming in the Luxettipet range for quite a long time.