The tiger, which has caused panic by killing cattle daily, will be radio-collared and relocated
The tiger cub that travelled from Tipeshwar to Solapur seen with its mother T22
The operation to capture a tiger that walked approximately 500 kilometres from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary near Yavatmal to Dharashiv in Solapur district is set to commence today. Forest department officials will use thermal drones and camera traps to track and capture the animal. Sources revealed that the tiger has been killing two cattle daily, causing widespread panic among locals.
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Dr V Clement Ben, additional principal chief conservator forest (Western Wildlife Region), said, “The state government has authorised the capture of the tiger that journeyed from Tipeshwar to Solapur district. After its safe capture, the tiger will be fitted with a radio collar and released into the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.”
The Rapid Rescue Team (RRT) from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) will lead the operation. The team, headed by Dr Ravikant S. Khobragade (veterinary officer, wildlife, TATR), includes Ajay C. Marathe (police constable and shooter), Vikas Tajne, Yogesh Lakde, Praful Wadghure, Gunanak Dhore, Dipesh Tumhare, Wasim Sheikh, and drivers Amol Korpe and Akshay Dandekar. The team is expected to leave TATR shortly, with the operation beginning by Monday.
Kushagra Pathak, deputy conservator of forest (Solapur), and B A Pol, deputy conservator of forest (Dharashiv), along with their teams, are monitoring the tiger’s movement with support from Pune-based RESQ Charitable Trust.
B A Pol said, “The RRT will work with our staff to capture the tiger. We’ve installed camera traps and are using drones, including thermal drones, to track its movements along the Barshi-Dharashiv border. The tiger is killing two cattle daily, and the decision to capture it is in the interest of both the tiger and the people.”
This young male tiger, born in 2022 to tigress T22 in Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, has been dispersing in search of new territory. It has travelled about 500 kilometres to Solapur district and will be relocated to Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, about 300 kilometres from Mumbai and spread across Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Ratnagiri districts.
The longest journey
In June 2019, a tiger named Walker, fitted with a radio collar, began its journey from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal. By December 2019, it had reached Dnyanganga Sanctuary, travelling through eight districts of Maharashtra and Telangana. The tiger’s movement was tracked until February 2020, when its radio collar was removed. Walker covered nearly 3,000 km, making it the longest distance travelled by a tiger with a radio collar. Its current whereabouts are unknown.
The silent journey
In 2021, a young male tiger, T3C1, travelled 330 km from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Vidarbha to Gautala Autram Sanctuary in Aurangabad. This tiger’s journey involved no human-animal conflict and went unnoticed by the public. It was first spotted on March 15, 2021, through camera traps, marking the first sighting of a tiger in Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary since 1940. Experts believe T3C1 travelled through Pandharkawada, Umarkhed, parts of Telangana, Akola, Dnyanganga, Hingoli, and Ajanta mountain ranges, covering around 2,000 km.
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