Tiger roaming in Buttayagudem confirmed as male; sub-adult with poor hunting skills

The tiger that crossed into Andhra Pradesh from Telangana is confirmed as male, and its movements are found in Buttayagudem surroundings. The tiger is speculated to be a sub-adult with “poor hunting skills.”

According to preliminary analysis by Forest Department officials, camera trap images obtained recently show no evidence of territorial behaviour such as urine spraying or scrape marks, which are typically associated with a resident tiger asserting ownership. This has led officials to believe that the animal is not holding territory and may be passing through the area, a pattern commonly observed during seasonal dispersal in January.

Speaking to The Hindu, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Eluru, P. Venkat Sandeep Reddy, says the tiger recently captured on camera traps near the Papikondalu landscape in Andhra Pradesh is most likely a new, transient animal, possibly a sub-adult that has temporarily migrated into the region. 

The tiger appears to be sub-adult and relatively healthy, though slightly heavier than expected for its age. Importantly, stripe patterns captured in the images did not match any existing records in the department’s database, strongly suggesting that the animal has not been previously documented in Andhra Pradesh. “Based on stripe verification, there is a 99% possibility that this is a new tiger not the one sighted a couple of years ago,” he says.

The recent cattle kills linked to the animal are also being treated with caution. Forest officials clarified that speculation about poor hunting skills is only indicative and not verified. While tigers generally avoid livestock unless natural prey is scarce or the animal is weak or inexperienced. More days of monitoring are required to understand the pattern. “Telangana forest officials have also been requested to check for similar cattle depredation incidents across the border,” he says.

“There are no signs of urine spray or scrap marks; we haven’t found them anywhere. There is no territory ownership either. Usually, what happens is we see migrations in January, so we think this is most likely a temporary migration.” he says.

Forest teams have been deployed for day and night surveillance, coordinating with revenue and police personnel in villages including Teddanuru, Pakalagudem, and Ankannagudem. “The tiger currently roaming the Beddanuru Reserve Forest in Eluru district is now suspected to be male,” forest officials said, after tracking its movements from Telangana’s Kawadigundla forest on January 21.

“The wild animal so far killed five cattle in the forests in Antarvedigudem, K. Nagavaram and other villages in the last two days. An alert has been sounded in the nearby habitations,” FRO Durga Kumar Babu, who visited the spot told The Hindu on Saturday (January 24, 2026).

Polavaram Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) M. Venkateswara Rao said tom-tom is being arranged in all villages and public are requested not to go into forests for collecting firewood and graze cattle.