Tiger Attacks Photographer, Enters Hut In Madhya Pradesh's Morena

A tiger that possibly crossed over from Ranthambore Reserve in Rajasthan into Madhya Pradesh entered a hut-like structure in Morena district on Thursday morning and injured a photographer present at the site, an official said.

Confirming the development on the basis of reports provided to him by local officials, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Subharanjan Sen told PTI in the afternoon the tiger may have strayed in from Ranthambore, adding "from where else will it come".

Forest officials said the tiger entered a "pathore", a place close to which cattle are tried in agricultural fields, in Runipur village in Joura tehsil, which is some 35 kilometres away from the district headquarters.

Incidentally, officials of the Rajasthan forest department had alerted their MP counterparts about the movement of T-136 in Morena two days ago.

Asked if it could be tiger 'Mohan', officially called T-136, Mr Sen said he was yet to see photographs of the big cat.

"I have been informed that a tiger entered a hut-like structure there. As you say, it might be from Ranthambore, from where else will it come. However, I cannot confirm whether it is from Ranthambore," Mr Sen said.

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve is located in Sawai Madhopur district of south-eastern Rajasthan, some 130 kilometres away from Jaipur and 239 kilometres from here.

"I have been told the tiger has injured a person who was trying to photograph it. After the crowd in the vicinity thins, the tiger will move into the nearby thicket. We are 99 per cent sure it will move out as big cats don't live in such houses or huts. They love the wild," he added.

A senior official had recently told a media house tiger movement was recorded in Dholpur in Rajasthan for a week and forest teams were monitoring it. He had said the tiger had crossed over into the forests of MP and local officials had been alerted.

Dholpur is around 30 kilometres away from Morena.

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