MP forest department launches hunt to capture lovelorn tiger

 Bhopal: To avert a possible man-animal conflict, Madhya Pradesh forest department embarked on a mission to capture a lovelorn male tiger that has travelled over 250 km across several districts of the state in search of a mate.

In the past one year the big cat has traversed jungles of Dewas, Ujjain, Dhar and Jhabua districts.

It was last spotted near human habitation at Jhabua’s Kasarbardi area, where he killed a cow, worrying forest officials.

Forest officials, however, said the feline might begin its journey again as his quest remain unfulfilled, forcing them to re-plan their move to capture it.

The male tiger, who is around three years old, is definitely looking for a mate and he is getting restless which is probably why he is on the move. But the problem is that there is no female tiger in this area,” Ujjain’s chief conservator of forest BS Annigeri, who has been keeping tabs on the tiger for the past one year, said.

An alert has been sounded in the Jhabua, Dhar, Ratlam and Ujjain districts and forest officials are searching for pug marks along the Mahi river, the route the tiger is following.

The department had put up a bait and a cage in the jungles near Kasarbardi village on Friday. Three elephants were also used in the operation.

The tiger however eluded the search party as it did not come near the bait.

Much to the disappointment of the officials, the tiger was also not captured in the camera trap set up in the vicinity. The camera trap was checked on Saturday morning.

But Jhabua DFO Rajesh Khare is hopeful that the tiger is still in the vicinity.

“We have found several pugmarks in 500 meter radius of the place of his last kill, which he has consumed entirely. No fresh pugmarks have been found in the area, but since the area is rocky it is possible that he is not leaving any foot prints. Our entire strategy will depend on the tiger’s movement,” he said.