01 February,2025 08:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
The male tiger was born in Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in 2022. File pic
While the Maharashtra forest department is making all possible efforts to capture the tiger that walked 500 kilometres from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal to Solapur, the forest department officials told mid-day that the foliage and undergrowth are causing a challenge to dart the tiger, which has been sighted in Dharashiv.
Solapur Forest Department officials set traps to capture the tiger
Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Kushagra Pathak from the Solapur Forest Department said, "We are continuously monitoring the movement of the tiger using camera traps and drones. We have the location of the tiger, but we are unable to dart the tiger as there is no clear view due to the foliage. The tiger is currently in the Dharashiv division, and there have been few instances of cattle kills. Our teams are present on the ground, and we are hopeful of capturing the tiger soon."
To get a clear shot to tranquillise the tiger, the animal has to be properly visible or in an open area. Officials said that once captured, the young male tiger will be released in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. The reserve, which is 300 kilometres from Mumbai, is spread across Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Ratnagiri districts.
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According to the sources, the tiger might have travelled from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary to Painganga Sanctuary in Yavatmal, and from there, it to Nanded district in Marathwada and from there to Latur, and then to Yedshi Ramalinga Wildlife Sanctuary in Dharashiv district.
Some farmers in the Solapur district had brought to the notice of the forest department that in the past weeks there had been an increase in the attack on cattle, following which the department installed camera traps in which the tiger was captured. This is the first recorded sighting of the tiger in the Dharashiv district.
The male tiger, born in Tipeshwar in 2022, is the cub of tigress T-22 from the Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary. Researchers say that the male tiger, who is about 2.5 years old, might have travelled in search of new territory.
