Tiger or leopard: Camera traps fail to spot animal that killed cow in Vizianagaram

Vizianagaram: Camera traps failed to capture the image of an animal, believed to be a tiger, at four places under S Kota Mandal in the Vizianagaram district. Forest department officials had fixed camera traps at four places after a suspected tiger killed a cow near Aithanapalem village under S Kota Mandal in Vizianagaram district on Saturday. Forest officials suspect that the animal moved towards the Ananthagiri hilly area of Alluri Sitarama Raju district.

It is not the first time that the big cat evaded the camera trap. "We had fixed camera traps at strategic places under S Kota and Mentada Mandal in Vizianagaram district in April this year after the animal killed two sheep, but we didn't get any images of the tiger," said Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF-Vizag), P Ram Mohan. There was speculation that the tiger that created panic in the Vizianagaram district and the one in East Godavari district may be the same. "We suspect it's not the same Tiger and two Tigers are prowling in the region, Ram Mohan added. We are waiting for the scientific evidence to disclose whether it is one or two tigers in the region," he said.

Unless we get images of the suspected animal, it is difficult to say whether the animal is a tiger or leopard. Sometimes leopard pugmarks resemble a tiger, said a senior forest officer. Forest officials said they have found fresh pug marks in a village under Tuni in the East Godavari district. Passengers on a private bus noticed that a tiger was crossing the road in between Kolimeru and Kummarilova villages and they alerted the forest officials. In December 2021, a tiger was spotted on a camera trap in the Papikonda National Park. Since then, the movement of the big cats has been reported between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha border.

"There are no traces of the Tiger in Vizianagaram district. We suspect that the Tiger might have entered from the neighboring Odisha forest. We are chalking out plans to get the images of the animal for scientific evidence to declare the animal," forest officials said.