Koppal, 17 October

For the first time in almost five decades, a tiger has made the rocky forests of Koppal its home, creating both excitement and fear.

A six-year-old male tiger has been roaming in the Temba forest area of Gangavati taluk for the last 85 days. The tiger is moving between Temba and Mallapur Forest ranges. Forest department sources said it has killed around 20 cattle so far.

What makes the case unique is that no one has seen the tiger directly. Forest staff and locals have not had a direct sighting. The department is depending on indirect evidence like pugmarks, scat, cattle kill patterns and two captures on camera traps.

Koppal forest officials have obtained oral permission to capture the tiger, but the operation has turned out to be challenging.

The Temba region is not typical tiger habitat. It is a dry, rocky terrain spread over 1,000 hectares, full of boulders, hillocks and caves. This makes tracking pugmarks very difficult, officials said.

Koppal Deputy Conservator of Forests Nirmala NK said, "We have deployed 50 camera traps and drones. So far, we have captured it only twice on camera. We are not sure if all the cattle were killed by the tiger, as leopard numbers are high in the Kishkinda region."

Recently, the tiger killed four calves on a single day, ate two and abandoned two. The forest team placed a cage near the carcasses, but the tiger did not return.

The tiger has hit the daily lives of shepherds, as Temba is one of the places where they get fodder. After the department restricted entry into the forest, they are facing problems.