Govt to set up rescue centre for stray tigers in Pilibhit

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government will set up a rescue centre for stray tigers in Pilibhit tiger reserve and has asked authorities to submit a proposal within 10 days. The proposed rescue centre for the tigers is top priority , said a high-level committee on Friday , as it will help treat ill, old and incapacitated tigers who have become man-eaters due to their inability to hunt.
Treated tigers will be released in the wild, if possible, or in the safari.“Setting up the rescue centre will need the state government's approval and it can be done soon,“ said conservator, Bareilly , VK Singh.Creating a tiger safari would need the permission from the State Wildlife Board, National Wildlife Board, Central Zoo Authority and the Supreme Court. “We, therefore, have been asked to prepare two separate proposals,“ said an official. The Pilibhit reserve has a horse-shoe shape with breadth varying from 2km-14km which is a short distance for the tigers to cover in one go.The 70,000-hectare reserve has five ranges -Barahi, Mala, Deoria, Mahof and Haripur -which are scattered patches of forest with villages in between. It explains the high incidence of man-tiger conflict in the area. “The sub-adult which strayed into Mallapur village on November 23 was under stress when we reached to rescue it. People were taking selfies with it,“ said another officer. Though it was released in the wild, it kept venturing out and killed a man on November 26.
“The animal was a compulsive man-eater and got used to dragging people out of the mosquito net while they were sleeping,“ said a senior official. Soon after it was trapped, another stray feline killed seven people in Bankati.
“We got harsh with people and, at times, restricted them from going inside forest“ said the senior official. The third tiger was spotted by villagers in a field in Bankati on July 14.It killed four people in three days between August 7 and August 10 but did not eat the bodies.