Patna, Dec. 15: The tiger that had strayed from Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in Bihar has returned to the same place where it was first sighted on December 2.
Now, the chance of the feline returning to its original habitat, on its own, is very thin. The tiger, which had started moving northwards five days ago after travelling more than 20km during the period, has returned to the first spot.
VTR is located almost 300km north of the present location of the strayed animal. The recent development has put the state environment and forests department on alert as officials have intensified the efforts of capturing the tiger.
The tiger was moving near Haraout village in Vaishali on Thursday morning. Its position was deciphered on the basis of fresh pugmarks found near the village. The place is located around 3km north of Sarwar Magarpar where the tiger was sighted on December 2. “As per the directive given by the National Tiger Conservation Authority member secretary Rajesh Gopal, we are going to place two tiger traps in the area where the big cat is moving,” chief wildlife warden D.K. Shukla said.
Shukla said National Tiger Conservation Authority has also promised to send Parag Nigam, an expert from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, who would lead the team that has been deputed for capturing the animal.
The forest department has directed the field officials to intensify the search of a fresh kill by the tiger so that it could put up a temporary high platform near the kill so that a team could be deputed in the field to tranquillise it.
Wildlife experts, too, are of the opinion that it is high time the state government should take steps as the tiger appears to have got disoriented as far as returning to its original habitat is concerned.
“Bihar does not have the option of using trained elephants as it has none. Putting up traps could prove fruitful. But the department should also think of sending a tigress from Patna zoo to the spot in a cage. Its presence would attract the strayed animal,” said NVK Ashraf, who works with the Wildlife Trust of India, over phone from Delhi.
