Nagpur: The restrictions on people’s movements seem to have encouraged tigers to come out of the forests and onto the roads. On Tuesday, a tiger on the Agarzari-Mohurli road near Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) caused a flutter among passers-by. The animal did not harm anyone even though curious people got down from their vehicles for a closer look at the animal.
Tadoba’s wildlife biologist Prajakta Hushangabadkar, who was returning from work to reach Mohurli, said, “The tiger was sighted at 5 pm. The animal suddenly came out of the woods near Kalapani nullah ahead of Navargaon chowki and walked a few metres before squatting on the road. Around 25 people on two-wheelers and four-wheelers were at hand to catch a glimpse of it.”
“Though it was wrong on the part of the people to come out of their vehicles, the tiger did not harm anyone nor was it pestered. Studying factors that mitigate conflict and encourage coexistence are key steps to maintain a healthy relationship between humans and wildlife,” said Hushangabadkar.
The tiger is said to a male sub-adult cub of Chhoti Madhuri, a resident tigress of Agarzari forest. “The situation would not have been similar had the tiger been sighted in the territorial forest area. Tadoba tigers have regular interface with tourists and villagers and have understood that humans are not their food nor threat,” said TATR deputy director (core) Nandkishore Kale.
The tiger must have come out of the forest owing to sparse traffic on the road which, otherwise, is busy when tourism is open. Tigers and other wild animals have been sighted frequently on the forested Padmapur-Mohurli road and there has been no record of a tiger attacking any passer-by. The pictures of the tiger went viral on social media with thousands of comments and likes on Twitter.
“This is the best example of coexistence. The tiger did not attack anyone despite being so close. It also sends a message that the big cats will never attack any human deliberately. However, these carnivores have been dubbed as villains following series of attacks on humans in Chandrapur, where most of the attacks occur when people come in their critical distance while collecting forest produce in the jungles,” said state wildlife board member Bandu Dhotre.
In 2020, 88 people were killed in Maharashtra in wild animal attacks. Out of this, 35 were in Chandrapur district alone. Even in the last three months of 2021, 13 villages have died in the district alone. All the victims had ventured into the forest for collection of non-timber forest produce.