HYDERABAD: The increasing number of man-animal conflicts in Telangana have resulted in the killing of two youngsters in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district within 20 days, leaving both villagers and officials in a constant fear that, if left unresolved, the issue can drive communities to extremes.
While the forest department is taking all necessary measures to keep the villagers as well as the tigers safe, to ensure there is no targeted killing of the wild animal, the large-scale encroachment of forest cover in the past few years gives an alternate view pointing out reasons behind human deaths and rejecting “stories” that project big cats as “man-eaters”.
As per official records, around 38,000 hectares of forest lands have been encroached in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad alone, where the recent tiger killings took place.
“We have asked the villagers to go to their fields in groups and not take their cattle inside the forest for grazing. The forest staff themselves who are on the job of tracking the animal have been given whistles to blow if they sense any danger close by,” said Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district forest officer S Shantharam.
He further said, “It is estimated that about 50% of the forest cover has been occupied. Also, the agriculture fields that have come up in the forest area are located in tiger corridors and their paths, which puts villagers working in these fields more prone to attacks.”
The latest tiger attack and death reported in a cotton field near Kondapalli village was located in the encroached two-acre land inside the forest.
“Tigers are territorial animals. They only attack if they feel threatened. The encroachment of forest land results in habitat stress which leads to man-animal conflicts. It is very rare that tigers become man-eaters,” a forest official stated.