Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan orders strict vigil as tiger re-enters Kakinada

KAKINADA: A radio-collared tiger re-entered Kakinada district on Thursday, triggering concern among residents in and around the Yeleswaram forest range. The Kakinada Forest Department detected its movement in the Uligogula Reserve Forest, Peddipalem Beat, in the early hours of Thursday.

Kakinada District Forest Officer N Ramachandra Rao said officials were monitoring the tiger’s movements through radio collar and had alerted nearby villagers. The tiger had moved through the Rajavommangi Range before entering Kakinada district.

HANUMAN Rescue Teams reached the spot to safely capture the tiger and release it in a dense forest or a zoo. Officials also installed trapping and drone cameras to track its movements and kept cages ready at range limits.

Deputy Chief Minister and Forests Minister K Pawan Kalyan held a high-level review meeting on Thursday on the tiger’s movement through the reserve forest area near Dharapalli in Prathipadu mandal.

During the meeting with Forest, Police and Revenue department officials, Pawan Kalyan reviewed the tiger’s location, tracking efforts and measures for forest-fringe communities.

He directed Forest Department and HANUMAN tracking units to maintain 24x7 surveillance and deploy sufficient personnel to prevent the animal from straying into human habitations. He ordered coordination among the Forest, Police and Revenue departments and directed officials to keep Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) on standby for emergencies.

Pawan Kalyan said all operational measures should also ensure that the tiger remained unharmed.

Meanwhile, Forest and Revenue officials placed border villages on alert and urged residents to avoid entering forest areas and report fresh sightings or cattle kills to Forest Department.

The tiger was captured at Kurmapuram in of Konaseema district on February 6, 2026. Before its capture, it had roamed the Papikondalu area in ASR district for over 15 days before moving to East Godavari and then Konaseema district.

A Delhi-based team, along with the SDRF and Forest officials, captured the tiger at Kurmapuram and shifted to Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Vizag, where officials fitted a radio collar to monitor its movements. The latest development has revived memories of earlier tiger movements in the Yeleswaram area.