Tadoba tiger that swam two rivers and crossed three States tranquilised in East Godavari

A transient male tiger, believed to be a native of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, was tranquilised in a cattle shed at Kurmapuram village in Rayavaram mandal of East Godavari district on Friday evening, 53 days after it reportedly left its native landscape in search of prey.

A transient male tiger tranquilised in a cattle shed at Kurmapuram village of Rayavaram mandal in East Godavari district.
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BY ARRANGEMENT

By Friday, the tiger is believed to have covered more than 650 km after setting out from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, traversing forest landscapes across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, and swimming across two major rivers, including the Godavari, before entering Andhra Pradesh and moving into Papikonda National Park.

The animal was tranquilised at around 6.50 p.m. while it was resting in a cattle shed after preying on a buffalo. Earlier in the afternoon, the tiger had escaped an initial attempt to tranquilise it when local residents raised alarm while it was resting near an abandoned house in Kurmapuram village.

Rajahmundry Chief Conservator of Forests B.N.N. Murthy told The Hindu that the tranquilisation brought an end to the tiger’s six-day movement in East Godavari district. He said the animal’s health condition was stable and that it had not attacked any human being during its entire journey, surviving mainly by preying on cattle. Mr. Murthy led the monitoring and tranquilisation operation from the time the tiger entered Andhra Pradesh.

According to East Godavari District Forest Officer B. Prabhakara Rao, two male tigers are believed to have dispersed from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in early December 2025. One of them was first sighted in Khammam district after crossing the Pranahitha river in Telangana, before moving into Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh. On January 29, the tiger entered Papikonda National Park from the Eluru side.

Two days later, it swam across the Godavari river near the Polavaram irrigation project to enter East Godavari district. On February 1, it reportedly killed three cattle at Torredu village before moving closer to an urban landscape.

Experts from the Pune-based RESQ Trust played a key role in the monitoring operation by deploying advanced tracking technology, assisting the expert team constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

Mr. Murthy said the tiger would need veterinary care for a few days as it had travelled extensively over the past weeks. A decision would be taken on whether to shift it to the Animal Rescue Centre in Visakhapatnam or to the Tirupati Zoo.

He added that the operation succeeded due to round-the-clock monitoring by Forest Department personnel, with police officials managing crowds and ensuring smooth movement for the tracking teams.