A transient male tiger tranquilized in a cattle shed at Kurmapuram village of Rayavaram mandal in East Godavari district. | Photo credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
A transient male tiger, believed to be native to the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, was tranquilized in a cattle shed in Kurmapuram village in Rayavaram mandal of East Godavari district on Friday night, 53 days after it reportedly left its native landscape in search of prey.
A transient male tiger tranquilized in a cattle shed at Kurmapuram village of Rayavaram mandal in East Godavari district. | Photo credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
By Friday, the tiger is believed to have traveled more than 650 kilometers after leaving the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, traversing forest landscapes across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, and swimming through two major rivers, including the Godavari, before entering Andhra Pradesh and moving to Papikonda National Park.
The animal was tranquilized around 6:50 p.m. while resting in a stable after hunting a buffalo. By early afternoon, the tiger had escaped an initial attempt to tranquilize it when local residents raised the alarm while it was resting near an abandoned house in Kurmapuram village.
Rajahmundry chief conservator of forests BNN Murthy told The Hindu that the tranquilisation ended the six-day movement of the tiger in East Godavari district. He said that the animal’s health was stable and that it had not attacked any human beings during its entire journey, surviving mainly by preying on livestock. Murthy led the surveillance and tranquilization operation from the time the tiger entered Andhra Pradesh.
According to East Godavari district forest officer B. Prabhakara Rao, two male tigers are believed to have dispersed from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in early December 2025. One of them was first sighted in Khammam district after crossing the Pranahitha river in Telangana, before moving to Eluru district in Andhra Pradesh. On January 29, the tiger entered the Papikonda National Park from the Eluru side.
Two days later, he swam across the Godavari river near the Polavaram irrigation project to enter East Godavari district. On February 1, he allegedly killed three cattle in the town of Torredu before approaching an urban landscape.
Experts from Pune-based RESQ Trust played a key role in the monitoring operation by deploying advanced tracking technology, assisting the team of experts constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Murthy said the tiger would need veterinary care for a few days as it had traveled a lot over the past few weeks. A decision would be taken whether to shift him to the Animal Rescue Center in Visakhapatnam or the Tirupati Zoo.
He added that the operation was successful thanks to round-the-clock monitoring by Forest Department personnel, with police officers managing the crowds and ensuring smooth movement for tracking teams.
Published – February 6, 2026 09:09 pm IST
