A 2.5-year-old male tiger born in a Maharashtra Wildlife Sanctuary has walked over 1300 km in the last 5 months, the longest walk ever recorded for a tiger!
Wait, Why? Experts believe that the tiger, named C1 and tagged with a radio collar, has been searching for prey, a mate or his own territory. Although the tiger population in India has been increasing, which is positive news, the areas in which they live are dwindling. Often animals don’t always find enough prey.
C1 was born in 2017 as one of three tiger cubs at the Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary. He left the sanctuary in June and has crossed 7 districts of Maharashtra state and into the neighbouring state of Telangana since then.
C1 is being tracked by GPS, and has been observed hiding during the day and travelling at night. With the exception of one man who was injured accidentally when he stumbled upon where the tiger was resting, no people have been harmed by C1. He has been killing wild pigs and cattle for food.
Tigers typically need a population of about 500 animals who are continually breeding as their prey in order to have enough for a sort of food bank and a continuous supply of food!
So What Next? The officials who are tracking C1 are worried that they might lose contact with him soon as the battery in his radio collar is drained by almost 80%.
There is also some suggestion that he may have to be captured and relocated to a nearby forest area in order to ensure that there is no danger to the people living in the area where he is travelling.
Stay tuned to see what happens to C1 and to learn just how far he will eventually walk to find his new home!
Written by: Disha Mirchandani. Disha is a former lawyer turned freelance content writer. She is a fitness enthusiast and amateur aerialist with her own fitness photo-blog as well.
