Hyderabad: Panic triggered by reports of a tiger killing a cow in Anantharam village of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district was put to rest on Thursday, with the forest department clarifying that no such incident had occurred and that images circulating on social media were misleading. Officials said the photographs shared widely were from an earlier cattle kill at Dattaipally, and warned that unverified messages were fuelling fear among villagers. They urged the public to rely only on official updates.
P Srinu, deputy range officer, confirmed that while there was no fresh kill at Anantharam in Gundala mandal, the tiger remains on the move and has now crossed into Jangaon district. Forest teams have detected fresh pugmarks at Kundaram village in Lingala Ghanpur mandal, indicating the animal is moving towards Gudur in Jangaon, marking a new phase in its long-ranging movement across central Telangana. The tiger, believed to have migrated from Maharashtra, has been roaming parts of Yadadri district since Jan 17, passing through Turkapally and Rajapet mandals. During this period, seven confirmed cattle kills were reported from villages including Ibrahimpur, Ralla Jangaon, Dattaipally and Gandamalla, mostly on the outskirts near forest patches. Continuous trackingForest officials said teams are continuously tracking the tiger using ground patrols, camera traps and drones, and have now shifted focus to Jangaon district after confirming its exit from Yadadri. Villagers along the likely movement corridor have been alerted and advised to avoid moving alone during early morning and late evening hours and to keep cattle secured. Officials reiterated that the priority is to safely guide the tiger through forest corridors, prevent further cattle loss and avoid human-wildlife conflict, while countering rumours that continue to stoke anxiety in rural areas.
