Chandrapur (Maha), Nov 10 (PTI) A tiger was foundelectrocuted at a farm in the district, the second such deathof the striped animals reported this month Maharashtra'sVidarbha region.
Notably, farmers in some places put up high voltageelectric fencing around their farms to protect crops, andsometimes tigers become its victims.
A forest official said to prevent such incidents, theyare planning to make farmers aware about solar fencing aroundtheir fields.
In the latest case, an adult tiger was foundelectrocuted at a farm in Chimur range of a forest area underChandrapur's Brahmapuri division on November 7, the officialsaid.
An investigation in the incident is underway, ChiefConservator of Forests, Chandrapur division, Vijay Shelke saidtoday.
Prior to this incident, a radio-collared tigress wasfound dead on November 3 in Chamorshi tehsil under theChaprala Wildlife Sanctuary in Gadchiroli district, withelectrocution being the possible cause of death, a seniorforest official had said.
The tigress had killed two persons and several animalsin Armori Wadsa area in the past, after which it was capturedand released in the Chaprala Wildlife Sanctuary in August thisyear.
Earlier in April, a sub-adult tiger, named Srinivas,was found electrocuted in Brahmapuri division of Chandrapur.
Shelke pointed out that the deaths of these tigersoccurred on farm lands and not precisely in forest areas.
"We manage only forest areas and our department withlimited staff has no control over non-forested areas. Ourstaff is always alert but if tigers stray into farms andvillages, we can hardly offer any protection," he said.
"We are initiating steps to educate farmers aboutchanging their crop patterns to minimise the destruction totheir crops by herbivores, like wild boars and nilgai (bluebulls)," the official said.
"In addition, we are also planning to make the farmersaware about solar fencing and chain-linked fencing for theprotection of their crops," Shelke said.
Further, he said, the incidents of eletrocution oftigers could be checked when the public's perception changesabout the wild animals.
Meanwhile, Chandrapur's Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve'sdeputy director (buffer zone), Gajendra Narwane, said theprovision of solar fencing around farms may not be a completesolution in checking such incidents.
"We may have to adopt a different strategy in these(man-animal) conflict-prone areas to tackle the issue andcreating awareness about wildlife among the people may also beof some valuable significance," he said. PTI CORGK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.