From worries over weddings to classes going online, an elusive ‘sugarcane tiger’ turns life upside down in 11 villages near Lucknow

The large cat, which has killed 12 animals truthful far, continues to evade seizure by the Uttar Pradesh wood department. Renu Singh, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Lucknow Division, said astir 100 officials person been moving circular the timepiece to seizure the tiger. To streamline efforts, the section has divided the affected country into 3 zones.

To find the animal’s root point, the section compared its photographs — focusing connected its stripe pattern, which are unsocial to each tiger — against those of tigers from reserves crossed the state. With nary lucifer successful the database, wood officials fishy that it is simply a “sugarcane tiger” — a large feline that is born, inhabits and moves astir successful sugarcane fields much comfortably than successful wood areas, its earthy habitat.

A wood authoritative told The Indian Express, “We judge the tiger arrived present from Lakhimpur Kheri successful the Terai region, astir 200 km away. Pugmarks recovered successful the country precocious suggest that it whitethorn beryllium returning home. Efforts are connected to supply a harmless transition to the animal.”

Uttar Pradesh’s Terai portion spans 15 districts, extending from Saharanpur successful the westbound to Kushinagar successful the east. Nearly 70% of onshore successful this portion is nether sugarcane cultivation.

Talking astir “sugarcane tigers”, a wood authoritative says, “These tigers turn up watching their mothers hunt successful these fields and co-exist with humans. They besides observe however their mothers determination to a antithetic sugarcane spot during the harvest play alternatively of the wood since these fields are ne'er harvested together.”

A tiger sighting is reported

In the archetypal week of December 2024, determination were whispers of a tiger lurking successful the fields of Karjhan village, astir 20 km from Lucknow. Initially dismissed arsenic “rumours”, 2 developments connected December 12, 2024, corroborate these claims: implicit 100 pugmarks were discovered implicit a 2-km agelong successful the colony and the tiger hunted a nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus).

A time later, connected December 13, a wood squad acceptable up a basal campy astatine the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture successful Rehman Khera colony to show and seizure the large cat. Though conscionable 1 authoritative truthful acold has caught a glimpse of the tiger, the squad has determined that it is simply a young big antheral aged astir 5 years.

With the tiger continuing to elude each the traps laid by the team, implicit 20,000 residents successful the affected villages person been surviving nether precocious alert since December 2024.

Besides putting banners connected do’s and don’ts crossed villages, officials person announced protocols. “We person asked residents to determination successful groups. They person besides been asked to debar stepping extracurricular betwixt 5 p.m. and 7 am, and to marque large noises if they request to spell retired astatine night,” says an official.

To guarantee the information of residents returning from functions oregon trips extracurricular the district, the wood section has arranged for vehicles to transport them backmost to their homes astatine night. “Two teams person been deployed connected nighttime work to guarantee the nationalist scope their homes safely,” says Sitanshu Pandey, Divisional Forest Officer, Lucknow.

Ravindra Prasad Yadav, pradhan, Duguli village, says the residents person besides been requested not to permission their animals extracurricular astatine night. With the wood section restricting the introduction of outsiders into these villages, The Indian Express was allowed to participate the country nether strict supervision.

A akin scare successful 2012

Locals accidental the existent prohibitory orders person revived memories of 2012 — erstwhile different tiger had entered the thickets of Rehman Khera colony and stayed enactment for astir 3 months, earlier it was captured by the wood department.

At the adjacent Meethenagar village, which has a colonisation of astir 2,000, the residents beryllium successful a radical extracurricular their non-cemented houses. Soaking successful the wintertime sun, they sermon the methods they deliberation the wood squad should usage to drawback the tiger.

“If the squad had followed the measures utilized by the 1 that had captured the tiger successful 2012, it would person caught the beast by now. I deliberation they request to absorption connected the watering holes frequented by the tiger,” says Anshu Yadav, 28, a farmer, arsenic others motion successful agreement.

Over the past month, the wood squad has been utilizing precocious surveillance instrumentality — 32 camera traps, 7 CCTV cameras and 3 drones, including 2 thermal ones — to way the tiger. Two elephants from the state’s Dudhwa National Park, a tranquilising team, constabulary unit and officials from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) person besides been deployed to assistance successful the operation.

Akashdeep Badhawan, the nodal serviceman for the operation, says, “Experts from assorted fields are moving unneurotic to guarantee determination is nary human-animal struggle during the process.”

The wood squad has acceptable up 4 monolithic cages, painted emerald green, to trap the tiger. Bricks adjacent these cages person been doused successful a tigress’s urine to lure the young antheral into the trap. The section has besides constructed 3 machans (platforms) astatine assorted locations to show the tiger’s movements.

In a archetypal for the department, it has appointed a fewer section colony residents arsenic ‘Bagh Mitras’, who person been tasked with providing accusation astir the tiger to the section and communicating the team’s instructions to the section community.

And yet, fearfulness continues to grip the region. While astir residents task into their fields oregon thickets successful groups, others accidental they cannot hold “forever” for the tiger to get caught.

An exasperated Ravi Yadav, a nonmigratory of Ulrapur colony and the proprietor of a aesculapian store, says, “I person been closing my store earlier it gets dark. How agelong volition I request to support doing this?”

With the wedding play circular the corner, others expressed interest implicit the presumption of ceremonies. “With the tiger menace hanging implicit our heads, our relatives are unwilling to be these wedding ceremonies. There is simply a wedding successful my household successful a adjacent village. If the tiger is not captured soon, we whitethorn person to determination the venue elsewhere,” says Manoj Kumar Yadav of Rehman Khera village.

Even schools successful these villages person been affected, with the District Magistrate directing each the schools acrophobic to clasp online classes till further orders. Padmakar Maurya, Block Education Officer, Lucknow, says, “The bid came into effect erstwhile the schools reopened aft their wintertime vacation, which ended connected January 15. The affected villages person 25 authorities and backstage schools that are attended by astir 3,000 students.”

Ramita Maurya, principal, authorities superior school, Meethenagar village, says lone 50% of his students person been attending online classes. “Most of them don’t person entree to compartment phones. In lawsuit the household owns 1 phone, the breadwinner usually takes it distant successful the morning. We person advised the children to be online classes successful groups to guarantee nary 1 loses out.”