T1 male cub kills goat, monitoring intensifies

Nagpur: Thirteen days after the Pandharkawda problem tigress T1’s male cub C1 escaped from the 80-hectare enclosure in Anji, it surfaced in the same area on Wednesday.
“The cub on Friday killed a goat tied as bait in compartment number 653. We have laid out three baits 500 metres away from the enclosure,” said additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Sunil Limaye.

“On Tuesday, it also killed a calf and the images feeding on it has been captured on camera traps on Wednesday,” Limaye added.

On December 27, the cub apparently jumped the 11 feet high enclosure after operation to capture it was given a break by the chief wildlife warden on the suggestion of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and expert veterinarians from MP who were part of the capture attempt.

The female cub C-2, which was captured on December 22, is now housed in a four-hectare enclosure in Pench Tiger Reserve. C-1 too is likely to be shifted here.

As the cub was missing, sources said from Thursday the forest department was virtually planning to call off the operation by sending back the elephants to MP but the camera trap images of the cub raised some hopes.

“We have intensified monitoring and will see the animal is driven in the enclosure again. If we get a chance our vets will capture the cub,” said Limaye.

Even as opposition is increasing from wildlife and animal rights activists not to capture the cub, wildlife conservationist Prafulla Bhamburkar says, “The cub should be captured and relocated. Ditto with the female cub. The man-animal conflict is inevitable in the said forest area considering lack of protection measures and poor prey base.”