Will the big cat survive?

Adilabad: The death of a tiger and a leopard in a short span of 10 days questions the survival chances of the big cat in the erstwhile Adilabad district. Despite the State government spending crores of rupees and implementing stringent laws to protect wild animals, it is due to the negligence and alleged inefficiency of the local forest officials, the lives of wild animals are critically endangered. Poachers are at a free hand to trap tigers and leopards and kill them.

Many tigers, whose number has been increasing in the nearby Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, are entering into Adilabad district passing through the forest. Taking advantage of this, hunters are killing leopards and tigers for their skin. 

Acting on a tip-off, local forest officials had arrested two persons, who were transporting tiger’s skin near Pembi forest area in Nirmal district ten days ago. Even before this incident has subsided, forest officials found out a leopard’s carcass on Monday, which died after got trapped in wires snare on the outskirts of Rangampet village, five kilometres away from Mancherial district. The officials deployed dog squads to catch the hunters, who were believed to set up snares to trap wild animals. 

On the other hand, police officials arrested five persons including two forest officials for negligence and dereliction of duty in connection with the killing of a tiger in Pembi forest area in Nirmal district 10 days ago.

In another incident six months ago, a severely wounded cheetah was found in a trap at Vemnapalli forest area in Mancherial district. It was learnt that the cheetah came from Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra through the forests.

As the tiger population in Indravati Tiger Zone in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh State is increasing, they are going astray and entering into Jannaram forest area through Kagaznagar forest area in the district.

Without any security and vigilance by the forest officials, poachers are entering into the Kawal Tiger Zone freely with traps, electric shocks equipment. 

Observing the threat to wild animals, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao directed both police and forest officials to put a stop to wood smuggling and wild life killing, by conducting joint operations. Now it is the responsibility of the forest and police officials to do their duty and save the wild animals in the district.