Tiger found dead in Andhra Pradesh's Nallamala forest, third in six months

KURNOOL: A tiger was found dead in Nallamala forest near Bairluty in Atmakur division of Nandyal district on Tuesday evening. It is the third such death reported in Nallamala's Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NTSR) in the last six months.

The tiger carcass was found at Pedda Anantapuram forest section under Berluti range when the forest officials conducted a search after getting information about the death of the big cat. Though forest officials said that a fight between two tigers led to the death, animal lovers suspected a hand of poachers in it.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Atmakur forest division officer Alenchan Teran said that the postmortem confirmed that it was killed in a fight with another big cat.

"With the increasing population of tigers in the Nallamala forest, fights between the big cats due to territorial disputes become common. This may be the reason for the latest death reported in the forest," the forest division officer said.

On February 5, 2022, a female tiger was found dead near Kandaleru reservoir under Chelama forest range of Nandyal division. Another female tiger was found dead at Chalama first tunnel on railway track under Nandyal division on November 12, 2021.

A tiger was found dead on railway tracks near Nandyal on April 17, 2019 and a female tiger was found dead at Naramamidi Cheruvu of Srisailam range on March 28, 2018. On November 18, 2018, a tiger cub was found dead at Racharla forest circle.

The NSTR is spread over 5,937 sq km out of which 3,737 sq km is in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Nallamala forest is spread in Kurnool, Gunter and Prakasam districts of Andhra Pradesh and Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts in Telangana State.

The core area of the tiger habitation is 2,444 sq km. The Nallamala forest in AP has a tiger population of 68.

Activist sees hand of poachers

Spandana Suresh, an animal lover and social activist, suspected foul play. "The Nallamala forest is a home to the growing tiger population, but it has become a virtual death trap for tigers due to negligence of forest officials. This is only the tip of the iceberg," he said.