Tiger strays to Hyderabad fringes, closest sighting in 50 years
HYDERABAD: A tiger has moved alarmingly close to the fringes of Hyderabad, triggering alerts among forest officials and villagers after fresh pugmarks confirmed its presence in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, around 60 km from the city.
Officials said this is the closest a tiger has come to Hyderabad in nearly five decades. The animal is believed to be moving within the Ibrahimpur reserve forest, a small forest patch spread over 259 hectares. Despite multiple camera traps being installed, the tiger has so far evaded capture on camera.
Cattle attacked on forest fringe
The tiger killed a four-month-old calf on the spot, injured another and dragged an 18-day-old calf into the forest at Ibrahimpur under Turkapally mandal on Saturday. Since then, its movement has been confined to the reserve forest area.
Forest beat officer K Narmada said preliminary assessments suggest the tiger may have strayed from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and is currently assessing the area for habitat suitability. However, officials remain sceptical about it settling here. “The forest does not have enough prey or ecological support for a resident tiger. It is likely to move on in search of a more viable territory,” she said.
Narmada added that the animal is unlikely to hunt again immediately. “Once a tiger kills and eats prey, it generally does not require another kill for at least five days. So it may not come near villages again for some time,” she said, noting that two ponds inside the reserve forest could sustain it for a few days.
Forest too small for a resident tiger
Forest section officer T Shalini said the tiger’s movement has been sporadic but persistent. “A fully grown tiger requires more than 5,000 hectares for food, water and shelter. This forest is far too small,” she said. According to her, the same animal has been on the move for weeks, passing through Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Jagtial, Sircilla, Kamareddy, Siddipet, Karimnagar, Peddapalli and Narsapur before reaching its current location.
District forest officer Sudhakar Reddy termed the development unprecedented. “This is the first recorded instance of a tiger coming so close to Hyderabad,” he said, adding that the animal could be searching for territory or a mate, neither of which the fragmented forest patches here can provide.
Another beat officer, K Mallesh, said the tiger appears to be nocturnal and has avoided large human habitations. “There is no sign of aggression towards humans. It is not a man-eater,” he said.
The district administration has issued alerts in villages around Ibrahimpur, advising residents to avoid forest areas. For now, the tiger remains unseen but clearly present — underscoring how shrinking habitats are pushing wildlife closer to urban edges.
