With no clue of the Bijnore tigress that had killed ten people so far in Uttar Pradesh, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has directed the State to identify potential man-eaters and radio-collar them.
Serious efforts are required to track their movement and study their behaviour, the authority said, adding that if possible, the department must translocate such aberrant tigers to reserves.
According to sources, NTCA in a recent meeting has recommended for maintaining constant vigil, using more number of camera traps. As many as 80 cameras are to be installed in the Najibabad division of Bijnore.
With rising incidents of human attacks in the State, it has also called for closer observations on their anomalous behaviour. If required, they must be put away from human habitations, to check further escalation of man-tiger conflicts in the region.
While the Forest Department has already intensified search for the man-eating tigress, it is still proving elusive. The gory trail of the tigress killing 10 people continues to spread panic among the villagers.
When the tigress continues to be untraced despite an all-out effort, chances of getting it radio-collared appear remote. "We are hoping to not only trace the Bijnor tigress but in the process even take precautionary measures by tracking other aberrant tigers," said Kamlesh Kumar, Moradabad Conservator of Forest. Updating on the latest situation, Kumar said over 34 cameras have been installed across the 344 sq kms forest division of Najibabad, but there is no trace of the tigress so far. A team of 60 members is tracking the tigress. This includes forest officers and staff, along with 15 volunteers and research scholars from Wildlife Institute of India, along with other NGOs. The sources said that though fresh pugmarks have been found in the area, no attacks have been reported as yet. .
The evading tiger, believed to be a four-year-old female, has been on a killing spree since December 25. She has, since then, wreaked havoc over an 80-mile stretch across the States of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The last victim of the tigress was a 50-year-old man, killed on February 10. The experts, however, said that as long as there is ample prey base in the area of present location of the tigress, it is unlikely to step out in human habitations and attack people.