Hang Glider Used To Locate Tigress, As People Cry 'Let Avni Live' In Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government seems to leave no stone unturned in their attempt to find a five-year-old tigress, ¡®Avni¡¯, labeled as a ¡®man-eater¡¯ and ¡®killer¡¯ behind 13 human bodies. A team of around 150 forest officials is on the lookout for the T1 female tiger, also a mother of two cubs, in the Pandharkawda forest, Ralegaon in Maharashtra.

The administration has already sent a pack of large elephants, horses as well as Italian breed dogs inside the territory to shoot the tigress on sight. While numerous discrepancies in the study of this case have left the activists and public agitated, the government remains unfazed by the repeated calls for reconsideration.

Apart from hiring the infamous private hunter, Nawab Shafat Ali Khan who is known to have taken the lives of hundreds of animals, advanced equipment and thermal drones have also been put in place.

In a recent development, a powered hang glider has been commissioned to locate the tigress which occupies between 18 and 120 square kilometres of the forest. The tigress has a lot of space in which she can move hence, making it difficult for the forest officials to find her.

The Indian Express reported that the glider arrived at the base camp on Tuesday and a test flight was also conducted near Anji village on the following day. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest ( Wildlife) A K Mishra told Indian Express, ¡°Our shooter Shafat Ali Khan has got it from Delhi. It will be making sorties from Thursday as part of the search operation.¡±

Mishra further added that the glider will help in providing a bird¡¯s eye view of the territory and can be a useful addition. The tigress is apparently protecting her babies and hence, is hiding in a safe place.

Reportedly, Shafat said that it is for the first time that a hang glider is being used in an operation like this. Khan who is also known as the ¡®man licensed to kill¡¯ invited his friend Arjun awardee golfer, Jyoti Randhawa with his two dogs to track down the tigress.

Both hunter dogs and hang glider are a first which are being used as weapons to kill a tiger. The Supreme Court of India refused to look into the Bombay High Court order that turned down the plea filed by wildlife activists challenging the forest administration¡¯s decision to kill the tigress.

¡®Let Avni Live¡¯ campaign soon gained momentum with national and international wildlife activists questioning the irregularities of the case. For instance, the government declared Avni as a 'man-eater' only on the basis of DNA test of three bodies out of a total of thirteen.

Many forest activists even believe that there is a larger agenda behind this operation i.e commercialization. The entire forest area is rich in limestone and other minerals, a prospective location for large-scale, cement industries. MP Birla cement factory has been time and again named as one large industry that is coming up adjoining the forest land.