Injured tiger rescued from Indravati Tiger Reserve, shifted to Nandanvan for treatment

Raipur: An injured male tiger was safely rescued by the Indravati Tiger Reserve team in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh and shifted to Naya Raipur's Nandanvan Jungle Safari for treatment and recovery.

On April 13, local villagers from the Bijapur buffer zone of the Indravati Tiger Reserve reported a limping tiger roaming in the area, said Tiger Reserve Deputy Director Sundeep Balaga.

"The tiger, estimated to be four to five years old, was shifted to Jungle Safari, Naya Raipur, on Thursday morning. The tiger is responding well and is expected to recover from its injury within a month. Once fully recovered, the tiger that belongs to Chhattisgarh will be released into the forests of the Indravati Tiger Reserve," Balaga added.

On April 16, a search operation was initiated by Indravati Tiger Reserve and a team from Nova Nature Welfare Society. The two-day operation succeeded in locating the tiger. After monitoring, the tiger was found to be limping and weak. Following the directives of authorities, a team including veterinary experts conducted an operation to tranquilise and check the tiger. They found a clutch wire snare stuck in its hind leg, which severely injured the animal and obstructed its movement.

Thanks to the swift response from Indravati Reserve, the tiger was safely rescued and admitted to ICU at Jungle Safari, Naya Raipur.

Forest department sources said that a possible poaching attempt cannot be ruled out. Scars on the tiger's leg suggest it might have been caught in a wire laid by poachers. Sources claimed that the tiger had a metal snare deeply embedded in its leg, which caught the animal around 20 days ago after it got trapped in a poacher's setup.

Due to the metal snare remaining in its leg for nearly 20 days, both of the tiger's legs were severely injured, and the infection spread throughout its body. A special rescue team was formed, and the tiger was tranquilised and captured in a cage.

Villagers informed forest officials that an injured tiger was wandering in the forest. Following this, the rescue team conducted operations in the areas of Kandulnar, Mormed, and Toynar. After tracking the injured tiger, it was tranquilised and safely rescued.

The rescue operation was conducted under the supervision of PCCF (Wildlife) Sudhir Agrawal and CCF (Wildlife) RC Dugga.