Bhopal: Officials In A Tizzy As Tiger, Cheetah Leave Territory; Man-Eater Chased By 100 Employees

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A tiger and a cheetah have put forest department officials on their toes as they follow their movements in scorching heat. First is man-eater tiger of Raisen district, which is being chased by 100 employees and it is yet to be caught.

Second one is female cheetah Veera which is camping in the jungle area of Gwalior after crossing limits of Kuno. As for Veera, officials are fed up with its habit of leaving the Kuno territory and explore nearby areas. The movement of Veera is being followed by a team of expert forest employees to ensure its safety.

“In last four months, it mostly remained outside Kuno. It used to return to Kuno and then leave again” a Kuno official said. Meanwhile, the man-eater tiger, which killed a villager in Neemkheda village, could not be caught even on Sunday. It had attacked and killed a villager on Wednesday. “The tiger is moving and changing locations frequently. So far, it could not be caught,” said District Forest Officer of Raisen, Vijay Kumar.

Villages Galore In Tiger Reserves

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): There are many villages situated in the core and buffer zones of state’s tiger reserves whose residents await relocation. The people of these villages not only have the limited access to basic amenities but they live under the constant threat of getting attacked by wild animal, specially big cats. Though relocation is the only option to improve their living conditions, it is not easy as it needs consent of villagers, which they don’t give easily.

Earlier, Sanjay Tiger Reserve had 54 villages. A few of them have been relocated, others await relocation under which compensation of Rs 15 lakh is provided to every family. According to Sanjay Tiger Reserve field director Amit Dubey, translocation of village is tough as villagers need to be convinced that relocation is for their betterment.

The villagers have been living in jungles for past several generations and every year, one or two human casualty takes place. Panna Tiger Reserve has 50 villages in buffer area, which are yet are to be relocated. Its core area had 16 villages and of them, 13 have been shifted.

The remaining three will be relocated under Ken Betwa river linking project. Satpura Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger Reserve and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve too have villages in their periphery. The relocation of villages not only protects villagers’ lives but also provide more land to wild animals for movement.