Coal mine workers returning from their duties at Khairiguda open cast mines in Telangana’s Komaram Bheem (Asifabad) district on Wednesday evening shuddered with fear on sighting a tiger wandering on the roadside.
A video and pictures of the tiger sitting on a heap of mud adjacent to the road, closer to the Tiryani forests, went viral on social media. The coal mine workers who quickly returned to Tiryani block headquarters informed the forest officials about the tiger.
According to a forest official in Asifabad, it could be the same tiger which had been seen in some other villages near the forests for the last few weeks. “We have been trying to capture it, but it has been elusive,” the official said.
Apparently, the tiger had come form Kadamba forest in Asifabad district and had sneaked into Tiryani areas. “It was first spotted drinking water at Gundala river under Rebbena block. There were reports that the tiger later wandered into human habitations at Rachapalli village under Tandur block, where it killed a bull,” the forest official said.
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The same tiger reportedly killed a cow at Golleti open cast mines and another bull at Tumpalli village, creating panic among the locals, five days ago. “We have sounded an alert in the villages and asked the people not to come out after sunset. We told them not to venture into the forest areas,” he said.
According to the forest officials, Komaram Bheem (Asifabad) district is surrounded by wild forests belonging to Tadoba tiger reserve and Kawal wildlife sanctuary, which are home to several tigers. These wild beasts keep travelling for several kilometres from place to place in search of prey animals.
“On rare occasions, tigers enter human habitations in search of cattle or sheep. They go back into the forests later,” the forest official said.