Tiger and Leopard in Mhow: Summer heat and search for prey brought wildcats to urban areas in Mhow and cause havoc. Forest department hopes that rain will bring relief to the havoc and the cats will find their way back into the forest areas.
Summer heat and search for prey brought wildcats to urban areas in Mhow and cause havoc. Forest department hopes that rain will bring relief to the havoc and the cats will find their way back into the forest areas.
Recently, forest department deployed four teams to track the elusive tiger that has been moving in area for around one-and-a-half months during which it has killed a 60-year-old man, two bovines and a nilgai.
The tiger has been making headlines for over a month now, as he was first spotted in Army War College, Mhow.
Forest minister Vijay Shah also held a meeting with senior officials over the big cat reportedly making a territory in the jungle of Mhow-Manpur-Pithampur area.
DFO Narendra Pandwa said that the department had urged Satpura national park officials to provide them trained elephants and experts to help trace the tiger.
The forest department has provided a compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the kin of the man killed by tiger.
Other than the famous tiger, leopards in Mhow are also straying into human settlements. Recently, an operation was launched to rescue the leopard roaming in the Mhow Army area for three days.
To trap the leopard sitting on the tree, two darts were also fired from the tranquilizer gun, but the leopard ran away. Leaving the Army War College, the leopard has gone towards Kodaria village. The Forest Department started the campaign at 4.30 pm. Six minutes later i.e. at 4.36 pm the leopard ran away.
For the last two days, the leopard was roaming in the premises of the Army's Military College of Telecommunication Engineering. Pugmarks confirmed the leopard's presence in the MCTE premises.
The question rises… why suddenly, the wild cats are straying into the college and human settlement areas. Divisional forest officer Narendra Pandwa said, “During summers, ponds dry out in the forest areas leaving all the animals thirsty and often hungry.” He added that the trouble of food is much more for herbivores.
“While looking for water, food and some relief from the scorching heat, animals often stray into urban areas after harsh summers,” Pandwa said. He added that as rains lash the areas and forests are moist again, the animals would return to forest.
“However, we are working to rescue the tiger and leopards to avoid human-animal conflict,” Pandwa said.
Recently, forest department deployed four teams to track the elusive tiger that has been moving in area for around one-and-a-half months during which it has killed a 60-year-old man, two bovines and a nilgai.
The tiger has been making headlines for over a month now, as he was first spotted in Army War College, Mhow.
Forest minister Vijay Shah also held a meeting with senior officials over the big cat reportedly making a territory in the jungle of Mhow-Manpur-Pithampur area.
DFO Narendra Pandwa said that the department had urged Satpura national park officials to provide them trained elephants and experts to help trace the tiger.
The forest department has provided a compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the kin of the man killed by tiger.
Other than the famous tiger, leopards in Mhow are also straying into human settlements. Recently, an operation was launched to rescue the leopard roaming in the Mhow Army area for three days.
To trap the leopard sitting on the tree, two darts were also fired from the tranquilizer gun, but the leopard ran away. Leaving the Army War College, the leopard has gone towards Kodaria village. The Forest Department started the campaign at 4.30 pm. Six minutes later i.e. at 4.36 pm the leopard ran away.
For the last two days, the leopard was roaming in the premises of the Army's Military College of Telecommunication Engineering. Pugmarks confirmed the leopard's presence in the MCTE premises.
The question rises… why suddenly, the wild cats are straying into the college and human settlement areas. Divisional forest officer Narendra Pandwa said, “During summers, ponds dry out in the forest areas leaving all the animals thirsty and often hungry.” He added that the trouble of food is much more for herbivores.
“While looking for water, food and some relief from the scorching heat, animals often stray into urban areas after harsh summers,” Pandwa said. He added that as rains lash the areas and forests are moist again, the animals would return to forest.
“However, we are working to rescue the tiger and leopards to avoid human-animal conflict,” Pandwa said.