A tiger from an Indian wildlife sanctuary has covered 1,500 km in what is being believed to be a record journey in search of a companion. It has already covered hundreds of villages, roads and canals across six districts of two Indian states – Telangana and Maharashtra.
The radio-collared big cat is from Maharashtra’s Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary and some experts opine it is in search of new territory or a female companion.
The information was shared by Indian Forest Service Officer Parveen Kaswan through his Twitter handle, which has 63.6k followers.
This #Tiger is still walking in to the record books. Now covered 1500 KM. The tiger is now at Aurangabad forest, after covering hundreds of villages, roads, canals etc across six districts of two states. No conflict reported. He is searching for a female or territory. Monitored. pic.twitter.com/rpwsm6NqIM
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) December 26, 2019
This when coverd 1300 👇🏽👇🏽https://t.co/CWTwDCdvjd
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) December 26, 2019
Most probably he is looking for a female. Had he been looking for a territory he could have been settled. Map is sourced from TOI. Picture courtesy Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary.
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) December 26, 2019
So far, no conflicts have been reported as the tiger continues to walk without harming anyone.
When the tiger completed 1,300 km of stretch, wildlife officials told media that the big cat does not have a "linear pattern" of walking. He has been tracked through GPS satellite information every hour and has, therefore, been found to have been in more than 5,000 locations in the past nine months.
According to them, the tiger primarily embarks upon his travels during the night, killing wild pigs and cattle for food.
Meanwhile, the forest officials have expressed fear they may lose communication with the big cat in the future, as the battery of the radio collar has been drained by 80 per cent.
The population of tigers in India has increased by 33 per cent in comparison to the figure 2226, provided by the last 2014 census. Maharashtra has 312 tigers, the fourth-highest number in the country.
The tiger had left its home in the western state of Maharashtra in June.
