Tiger on prowl in Lucknow's neighbourhood

Tiger on prowl in Lucknow's neighbourhood

Lucknow, Jan 10 (IANS) A fully-grown tiger on the prowl for the last five days near Rehman-Khera village, about 18 km from Lucknow, has caused panic in the area. Authorities have now geared up to track and capture the feline, an official said Tuesday

"We have now formed two special teams, who would be joined by another one from the Wildlife Institute of India, to track the tiger down, trap and return it to its natural home from where it has apparently strayed here," chief wildlife conservator B.K. Patnaik told IANS.

Clearly visible pugmarks were noticed for the first time on Friday. However, the confirmation that the feline was in the neighbourhood came after wildlife officials got down to tracking the animal and found a half-devoured blue-bull on the sprawling campus of the union government-run Central Institute of Sub-Horticulture on Sunday.

"The kill was not fresh, suggesting that the prey had been killed at least three days earlier. This made it evident that the tiger had been on the prowl in the area for at least five days," said Patnaik.

"I am confident that the task of catching the tiger would not be difficult as the animal has localized itself in the green cover around the institute, where we could get him either by laying a trap or by using the tranquiliser method," Patnaik added.

Wildlife expert, G.C. Misra, who is a former director of the Dudhwa National Park, says: "The tiger's straying into the area speaks volumes for the increasing penetration of human populations in the big cat's natural home."

This is the third time since December 2008 that a tiger has strayed into urban pockets in Uttar Pradesh. In the past two instances, both tigers were presumed to be man-eaters and were gunned down in Faizabad and Lakhimpur-Kheri, respectively, after special wildlife teams failed to trap them.

Its good that the tiger hasnt been captured yet. Tranqulisation and subsequent translocation should be a last resort,as arbitrary trapping-release ops only result in more conflict. The tiger has got to Rahmankhera on its own,and there is no reason why it shouldnt be able to leave the area on his own either,that is,unless he turns resident(the area doesnt appear to be too disturbed and there is adequate prey too). Of course,the tiger's movements should be closely monitored lest it comes to harm.