Tigers back in north Andhra after 25 years, strike fear

There is something eerie about a camouflaged, almost invisible, predator that leaves a trail of blood and destruction. You watch over your shoulder constantly, expecting it to leap out of its hiding place even though it has never attacked humans.

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In the villages of Vizianagaram, tigers (there is some doubt about whether there’s one tiger or two) have spread terror for nearly five months without killing a single human being. They have attacked cattle, sheep and wild animals, hunting only in the cover of darkness. While reports of tiger sightings have been short on detail, telltale pugmarks and carcasses, and a couple of camera traps, provide proof.

Guests From Odisha? Tigers live in the forests of neighbouring Odisha but the last time one was spotted in the north Andhra districts was 25 years ago, in 1997, when forest officials had found pugmarks in the Palakajeedi–Matham–Bhimavaram area in undivided Visakhapatnam district. There had been no sign of the big cats since then, so locating the Vizianagaram predator/s is important.

“As north coastal Andhra is not home to a tiger population, it is suspected that the tiger or tigers have strayed from neighbouring Odisha in search of new territory,” Vizag region chief conservator of forests P Ram Mohan Rao told TOI.