Tigress checks-in at Tadoba resort, fails to find way out

Nagpur: Forest officials were on the tenterhooks on Friday to flush out a tigress nicknamed Chhoti Madhu which had sneaked into a resort, hardly 400 metre from the tourism gate at Mohurli of Tadoba. The big cat was stuck at the resort till late night.
The tigress from the Navargaon-Agarzari area was first sighted early morning by the resort employees who informed the forest officials. As the word spread, a motley crowd of villagers gathered near the spot to have a glimpse of the animal. The STPF teams and foresters soon took charge and monitored the animal.
According to G Guruprasad, deputy director (buffer), the tigress is not injured and must have entered the sprawling resort during the night, perhaps while following a prey. “At the backyard of the said resort, there is a forest encompassing agriculture fields. The resort is completely fenced and it seems the animal could not find a way out. Fortunately, there were no guests in the resort,” he said.
Till late night, a rapid rescue unit (RRU) led by a sharpshooter was trying to drive out the tigress and sources said it was 30-40 metre from the main gate of the resort. For the entire day, the tigress was hiding inside the resort spread in 11 acres and having 16 separate cottages.
The good vegetation and shrubs grown due to rains have turned it a hiding place for the tigress. The animal also could not jump out due to heightened walls of fencing.
Police patil Ramkrishna Sakharkar said that the tigress killed a goat tied as a bait and contrary to expectation, it did not leave with the prey. “The tigress has three two-month-old cubs that were sighted by tourists in Agarzari in August first week. People did not disturb the animal as sighting tigers near Mohurli is not new,” said the police patil.
Naturalist Himanshu Bagde pointed out that the incident has brought focus on the state government directions issued on September 20, 2017, calling fortification of only 10% area of the resorts around built-up structures in the form of chain link without masonry walls, thereby keeping the remaining area for free movement of the wildlife. “With big carnivores frequenting the area, is it wise to fence just 10% area and keep remaining open?” he said.
However, Guruprasad said that many resorts, though they have come up on the revenue land, these fall in the corridor. “Tigers frequently move between Tadoba and Mohurli. Earlier, notices were issued to resort owners to implement the urban development department’s notification of 2017.”
State wildlife board member Bandu Dhotre said that cluster of concrete resorts have come up and several are under construction on the western side of the park near Mohurli, which is connected to Irai Lake, an important water source for animals. “Similarly, many resorts are coming up in the buffer zone near Kolara on the north-eastern side of the park. These resorts are blocking animal movement causing conflict,” he said.