Wild tiger in Bannerghatta rescue and rehabilitation centre searching for mate

The lone wild tiger sighted recently at the Bannerghatta National Park has made the BNP its home and is said to be doing well. Despite the park’s proximity to Bengaluru City, the tiger has posed no threat to humans.

According to the forest department and Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) officials, the lone male is now in search of a mate and this explains why it is frequenting the safari and rescue centre area. It is possible that this lone male is looking for a female after establishing its territory at the BNP, said Santosh Kumar, Director, BBP.

Since the tiger made the BNP its home, visitors to the BBP have sighted it twice. The first time was on July 5, 2015, at Mulegundekere (near the animal rescue centre) and the second was at the famous Barber Stone, en route to the safari on January 12. However, the forest department and zookeepers say they have been frequently seeing pugmarks, hearing calls and sighting him in this region.

The BBP has been carved out of theBNP and both share common boundaries. The places where the tiger was sighted twice are close to the lion and tiger safari and the rescue and rehabilitation centre. The BBP houses 35 tigers (30 Royal Bengal and five white) of which 21 are males and 14 breeding females, Kumar said.

 The carnivore is feeding well on deer, Sambar and wild boar in the wild. No cattle attack cases have been reported so far. The tiger is roaming around the BNP. Since people are permitted only into the safari area, they have seen the tiger there, added Sunil Panwar, BNP Director.

Since there is a well-established corridor from the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary to the BNP, the presence of another tiger in the region cannot be ruled out. Camera traps need be installed in this region to verify it, said a BBP official.