Tipeshwar tiger freed of snare, released

Nagpur: The nylon rope snare entangled in the paw of Tipeshwar tiger (C3) was successfully removed in a 7-hour-long operation by a team of wildlife veterinarians led by Wildlife Institute of India’s (WII) Dr Parag Nigam on Saturday afternoon.
Nigam tranquillized the tiger at 12.40pm and the team of vets then removed the nylon snare. The operation, which started at 5.30am, was carried out in the presence of Pench CCF & field director Ravikiran Govekar. Dr Nigam had earlier in February this year collared two sub-adult cubs of tigress T1 in Pilkhan area.
“The tiger was treated for its injuries and released back into its natural habitat,” said Govekar.
On Wednesday, some tourists from Pune and Hyderabad had sighted the over two-year-old radio-collared male tiger with a wire snare on its right paw which had caused a deep injury.
Caught unawares, the forest department then launched a daylong drive in Pilkhan area with the help of wildlife veterinarian Dr Chetan Patond who failed to dart the tiger despite firing twice.
Park officials suspect that people from Kopamandvi, Kobai and Andharwadi villages, which are 2-3 kilometres away from the park, had set the snares. A hunt for suspects has been launched.
This is the third recorded case of a Tipeshwar tiger getting entangled in wire snares. Earlier, on November 22, 2011, a 3-year-old tiger died due to strangulation after getting entangled in a snare near Bodh Bahattar village, which is on the fringes of the park. On September 11, 2017, a full-grown tigress (T4) was found with a wire snare in the neck. T4 moved around with the snare for 18 months and died in the sanctuary on March 18, 2019.