Maneating tigress of Moradabad

[skeetshot]

maneater.jpg

Last night the situation almost took another ugly turn when the jeep was surrounded by villagers and two Machals were brought to burn it by the irate villagers.

Fortunately my friend was recognised and the situation was brought under control

Man Animal conflict

It rained considerably last night in the Afzalgarh area and the tracks could not be found till 11.30 today

At 3 pm, the tracks were seen across a small road on the other side of which, 2 km, lay the border of Corbett

To furthur complicate matters, tracks of a large male were also found in the same area

Furthur, the Chief Conservator and his entire team are camping in the area

Also at least three more permits have been issued and these teams have also reached the area

Then there are at least 6 TV channel vehicles roaming around
The area has very dense Sugar Cane, linseed and some wheat

Fog has started setting in for the night.

[prashantsingh]

My God.
What a snap!
This tigress has to be captured / killed.
I do not see any reason why she will stop killing more humans in the future.

[skeetshot]

pug mark.jpg

tiger 2.jpg

[prashantsingh]

That's not the perfect pug mark one would look for. The large pad marking does show it's a tiger but this one can not be used to identify the animal. Do you have more snaps of the pug marks? Infact the rounded toes would make one believe its a male.

What rifles are your friends using for the hunt?
Hats Off to your friends for stalking a maneating tigress in an open jeep.
The safer way would be on elephant back or on a machaan.
Tracking a maneating tiger on foot would probably be the most dangerous thing one could ever do.
I am sure they know the risks.Which also makes me admire them.
It's all about the passion. The "junoon" which goes with a maneater hunt.

[skeetshot]

You are right, Prashant, that is certainly not the most perfect pug mark, and the soil condition is not ideal for this.

Against the pens used as markers, the indications are of a smaller print, although one cannot judge if it is a longer female print or a more square male print.

I understand the rifles are both 375 H & H Magnum.

[herb]

It is very sad, the animal is always the loser in human animal conflict.

It is also heart wrenching to even think of the sorrow of the near and dear one's of the people who have been killed in this manner. As human population grows it will be tougher & tougher for other species to survive.

Hat's off to the people who are willing to put their lives in danger to get rid of this killer.

Herb

[hajismp]

May Allah give patience to all who have lost their near and dear in these sad episodes. News papers are writing that Administration has called some Expert Shikaris (and not using the word - shooters) having .375 magnum caliber rifle to kill the said maneater. Questions arise (1)- from which Institute/college these Expert Shikaris got training for hunting of tigress ? while shikar is illegal and completely banned in our country ( barring few conditions like permit for Neelgai's hunting for crop protection in some areas in certain situations and not for getting meat )
(2)- Is there any shooting competition especially conducted for .375 magnum rifle events ?
(3)- Is nobody in forest department trained enough to handle such situations ?
Also the way of searching as reported on few TV channels does not look professional.
I do not want to insult anybody with my words. My best wishes to all associated with this operation.
- Dr.S.M.Parvez

[skeetshot]

Dr Parvez is correct.

Earlier, the Wild Life department had enough of its own officers who were proficient with their firearms, and now, they dont have such people.

Thus the main source of "Professional Hunters" left in our country are people who are shooters and regularly hunt abroad such as in Africa.

Fortunately, there numbers are growing.

India has made a disastrous decision thinking that banning hunting would save its wild life. Tiger hunting was closed in 1969 and today we can all see where our tiger populations are.

As an update:

Tigress is most likely in Corbett now.

She is a very intelligent creature, and all the tracks that were followed yesterday were never more than a meter from the sugar cane. She has been acting as if she knew she is being followed and could slip into the sugar cane immediately.

Also, her route indicates she was not meandering in a lost manner but has purposefully made a line to the park.

As Dr Prashant mentioned, the only way to follow her is on elephant back. The Forest Department has brought two elephants, but the report is they would not go deep into the sugar cane fields.

[AgentDoubleS]

Skeetshot', great updates, thanks for sharing.

[brihacharan]

> Good heavens - what a gruesome picture of the victim
> From the reports above I gather the tiger / tigress is shrewed keeping itself close to the sugarcane plantation - easy escape route...
> IMHO - the local authorities must impose a 'curfew' after sunset - as the tiger / tigress has tasted human flesh he / she is likely to search for more & come closer to the human habitation (virtually drawing it out....)
> A machan & bait located in 2 or 3 places surrounding the previous kill area could perhaps tempt the tiger / tigress to step out thereby giving the shikharis a good chance to bring it down.....
> My sympathies are with the families of the unfortunate victims....
Briha

[skeetshot]

http://www.indileak.com/pressure-to-cap ... t-on-hold/

[prashantsingh]

Wildlife | By IndiLeak Bureau


"Reacting to media reports that efforts were on to liquidate the man-eating tigress, Bharatiya Janata Party MP and former Union minister for environment, Maneka Gandhi talked to the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Uttar Pradesh, Rupak De on phone on Saturday and asked him to refrain from getting the tigress killed. Maneka Gandhi has suggested that the tigress be captured alive and subsequently released in the wild again.

The BJP MP maintains that the tigress in question had strayed from the wild into human settlement and that was the sole reason it having accidentally killed humans and hence be given a fresh chance of rehabilitation by reintroduction in the wild."

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Why doesn't Maneka Gandhi
OR
her PFA members come forward and catch the maneating tiger?
Easier said than done.

As for "Rehabilitation by reintroduction in the wild" is concerned.
I hope she knows what she is talking about.

This is INDIA.
Not AFRICA or BRITISH COLUMBIA where thousands of hectares of wilderness is untouched by humans.
A relocated maneater in our country (where everyday the forest cover is shrinking and human population increasing) would sooner or later kill more humans.

Did you guys see the snap skeetshot has put up. This animal has half eaten that kill. It has had her fill. It may not be active for another 3-4days because right now her tummy is full.
IMHO.
It is a matter of time before she strikes again.

[hajismp]

The said tigress is undoubtedly a "man eater " and must be catagorised in the list of Dangerous Animals and all the people who try to defend / save such type of animals should be catagorised as "Man Cheater".

[captrakshitsharma]

Interesting... Very interesting. Would had been great if Dr.Prashant had been on the job for we all know what a great narrative we would have had coming from him. Hope Skeetshot is on its heels and we may hear the story from him or shafath.

[HereditaryHunter]

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