ADILABAD: It is believed that the tiger that killed Morle Laxmi on Friday last week might have moved to Itikalpad village on the state borders and could have met a tigress in the Kagaznagar forest division of Komaram Bheem Asifabad district. There is another version that the male was ‘Johnny’ who had searched for a mate in the forests in Nirmal and Adilabad districts for nearly 20 days before returning to the Rajura forest of Maharashtra. While the tiger that fatally attacked Laxmi is yet to be officially identified, the forest staff have installed 40 camera traps, and deployed two drones and nearly 100 field staff along Telangana’s border with Maharashtra to track it.It was reported that the tiger was in the forest area of Itikalpad, five km from the border and could re-enter Maharashtra.The tiger reportedly killed a goat in Dhanapur and sneaked into forests when a cattle-grazer raised a hue and cry. Speaking to media personnel, Asifabad district forest officer Neeraj Kumar Tibrewal said, “We believe that the tiger, which killed Morle Laxmi, is moving in villages and not in the forests.” He said the cotton fields were hideouts for tigers.Villagers of Vempalli wondered why the forest officials did not trap the tiger that killed Laxmi.PCCF and chief wildlife warden Elusing Meru and Asi-fabad DFO Tibrewal visited the places where the tiger was sighted. Meru, who visited Itikalpad, said the tiger could return to the state after going to Maharashtra sincethe Kagaznagar forest division is a natural corridor. Foresters are unsure about the number of tigers in Asifabad district. They say these are ‘transit tigers’ from Maharashtra Chhattisgarh in search of mates. Tigers travel for 40-50 km per day in search of a mate, they said.
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