On February 2, a speeding vehicle rammed into a tiger at Harankund on National Highway-44 (NH-44).
After the controversy over the November killing of a problem tigress at Yavatmal, the state forest department is monitoring a male tiger that was knocked down by a speeding vehicle near Nagpur. This is because there are chances that an injured tiger may look for "easy prey" and exacerbate man-animal conflict.
On February 2, a speeding vehicle rammed into a tiger at Harankund on National Highway-44 (NH-44).
The injured tiger from the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), which has around 40 such big cats, was tracked down the next day but attacked a range forest officer (RFO), leaving him injured. Forest officials launched foot patrolling and set up 60 camera traps and 50 pugmark impression pads to track the carnivore.
Though it was captured in camera traps and spotted in the jungles at Paoni, the tiger could not be tranquillised due to heavy vegetation in the area.
"The tiger, who had marked his territory at Chorbahuli, does not seem to have any visible injuries and is walking normally. Hence, based on advice from veterinarians, we decided against capturing this free-ranging animal and are only monitoring it," said a senior forest department official.
The tiger seemed to be around 13 years old and had a broken right canine. The animal is known for its distinctive gait.
"We are monitoring its movements closely as there are chances that an injured tiger may look for easy prey as it cannot hunt at full capacity. This will increase man-animal conflict," he explained.
The forest department is also working on suggesting mitigation measures on NH-44, a major corridor linking north and south India. The site where the accident took place has been identified by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) as a tiger corridor in the eastern Vidarbha landscape. According to the department, the tiger may have been hit by a vehicle when it was crossing a crash barrier.
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