The wildlife management authorities have launched a drive to trace the movement of a big cat adjacent to the Papikonda National Park (PNP), in the Kunavaram forest range in the Godavari Valley in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district.
On October 15, a stretch of pug marks of a big cat, could be of a tiger or a leopard, was sighted by the forest officials outside the PNP. However, the pug marks were within the forest cover.
“We have traced the pug marks of a big cat in the forest outside the PNP. The pug marks are not clear due to rain to establish whether it is of a tiger or a leopard. However, the pug marks belong to the big cat family,” Chintoor Divisional Forest Officer M. Babitha told The Hindu on October 16 (Wednesday). In the recent years, a tiger had been spotted in the PNP.
Ms. Babitha further said there was disturbance to the movements of the big cat roaming inside the forest.
“We have installed CC cameras to trace its movements. We are prepared to undertake rescue operation whenever the big cat comes out of the forest cover,” Ms. Babitha added. Special teams had been deployed to monitor the movements of the big cat, she said.
Published - October 16, 2024 08:50 pm IST
