A wandering tiger, believed to be returning to Maharashtra, has triggered panic in Siddipet district after killing cattle in Ghanpur and Arepally villages. Forest officials and rescue teams are tracking the animal using drones.
Published Date – 8 February 2026, 07:53 PM
Hyderabad: The wandering tiger, which is believed to be returning to Maharashtra, attacked cattle in two villages in different mandals of Siddipet district, triggering panic among the inhabitants spread across a radius of 20 kilometres on Sunday.
The tiger, in the early hours, moved through Ghanpur village, Nangunoor mandal, and Arepally village, Koheda mandal, where it killed two and five cattle respectively, belonging to two individuals.
The cattle killings came to light in the morning by farmers who went to the agricultural fields. Forest officials, along with animal trackers and rescue teams, reached the villages and started operations to track the tiger.
The tiger is believed to have moved into the hillocks in the small patch of forest near the Singaraya Project. The tracking and rescue teams used drones to track the tiger in the hillocks. However, due to thick vegetation they could not locate the tiger in the hillocks.
The residents of the villages around the Singaraya project were put on alert following the movement of the tiger. The villagers who were panicked after the killing of cattle in Arepally village, shifted the cattle to safer places in the village.
The tiger is believed to be heading back to its birthplace after unsuccessfully wandering around in search of a mate or to a place to establish its territory in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Jangaon and Siddipet. The tiger so far had killed cattle at 12 places in the last 20 days in the three districts.
Unlike previous instances, the tiger is behaving cautiously and has not returned to any of the carcasses it killed in the last week. Usually, the tiger leaves the carcass after killing and returns later to feed upon it. Apparently, it moved away to a different location, sensing the movement of the humans around the spot.
In view of the tiger’s movement in the villages, the power department is suspending power supply to agricultural fields at night to prevent the big cats from getting electrocuted. The farmers have been asked not to go to the fields at night and to head only in the morning for work, taking all precautions.
