There seems to be no dearth of stories and speculation about the traceless Bijnore man-eating tigress that has killed ten people. Shortly after the recommendations of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to the State Forest Department, for radio collaring tigers with aberrant behaviour, the elusive big cat has now reportedly resurfaced and sighted after a gap of month.
While the camera trap is said to have taken the pictures of the tigress, local villagers have claimed to have seen it. The threats of fresh attacks by the tigress now loom large in the local villages. Efforts are now on to tranquilise the animal to examine its real identity.
The Forest Department had earlier claimed that since neither the tigress nor its pug marks were sighted after the last murder on February 6 from Bijnor's Nazirabad Forest Division, it was assumed that the big cat had entered back into Corbett Reserve in Uttarakhand, from where was believed to have strayed.
Forest Conservator Moradabad Kamlesh Kumar confirmed that the camera traps installed in the forest area have shown pictures of a tigress. Pugmarks have also been found. But, mere pugmarks cannot confirm whether the tigress is a man-eater or not. The identity has to be ascertained only after the tigress is been properly examined after tranquilisation.
Now, there is a renewed thrust to track the animal. The experts from Wildlife Institute of India, WWF and research scholars from Aligarh Muslim University are specially assisting in the search operations.
While 40 cameras have so far been installed in the forest range adjoining UP-Uttarakhand border, 60 more will be placed soon. The department is also using an unmanned aerial vehicle to track the movement of the animal. However, the big cat remained elusive.
The experts have stressed for a serious rethinking on the presence of big cats outside its reserved areas. With their habitats shrinking, incidents of tigers straying into human habitats are expected to increase in the coming days. This would not only escalate chances of man-animal conflicts but also abet poacher.
The tigress has been spending weeks moving invisibly through sugarcane fields, crossing national highways, railway tracks and rivers. The events highlight the fact that issues related to big cats are not simply restricted to wildlife sanctuaries or tiger reserves.