Maharashtra Forest Department is planning to develop forest corridors in the State for wildlife conservation in areas that reported presence and movement of wildlife in recent years. In a recent development, a sub-adult male tiger born in Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal in 2022, travelled approximately 500 kms in search of new territory in Solapur district. It is the third such instance in Maharashtra when a tiger travelled long distance to settle in some other location far from its birth place. Normally, a tiger covers 50-100 kms in a day during migration. As per the sources, in June 2019, a radio-collared tiger named C-1 also from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, travelled the longest distance ever, more than 3,200 kms in search of new territory.

 

During this longest journey, C-1 travelled to Ajanta-Verul in Marathwada and some parts of Telangana and later, settled in Dnyanganga Sanctuary in Buldhana. In the second such case in 2021, another tiger from Tipeshwar migrated to Pusad taluka. Later, it came back to Tipeshwar. In the process, the tiger travelled almost 1,200 kms. Now, the sub-adult cub, which is one of the litters of T-22 tigress of Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, covered a distance of 500 kms to get a good home under his own dominance in Barshi taluka of Solapur district. “The young tiger started from Tipeshwar in 2023 and then it crossed through Penganga Wildlife Sanctuary, Nanded forest area, then Latur and now it has settled in Barshi in Solapur,” Kushagra Pathak, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Solapur told ‘The Hitavada’. “Migration of tiger from Tipeshwar to Solapur is a rare event.

 

There is no big cat staying in Solapur forest and if this cub is staying for the last some time in Marathwada, then it is good news and the Forest Department is taking it as a success story,” said Vivek Khandekar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife). “We have identified the tiger with the help of its stripes and further monitoring is going on. The path it followed to come to Solapur is a matter of study. If tigers are following the same path, then there is a need to corridor conservation in near future. Keeping this development in mind, the department is planning conservation of corridors in State for better wildlife management,” added Khandekar. In Solapur district, some farmers alerted Forest Department officials to an increase in cattle attacks over the past weeks. Following these reports, the Department installed camera traps, which revealed the presence of the male tiger. The tiger is also venturing into Yedshi Ramalinga Wildlife Sanctuary in Dharashiv district and this marks the first recorded sighting of a tiger at Dharashiv district as well.