Known for its marathon stroll throughout 3,000 km, Walker the tiger not noticed for over a month

WALKER, the tiger that got here to be recognized for its marathon stroll of over 3,000 km, has not been seen within the Dnyanganga Wildlife Sanctuary in Buldana direct, the place it had settled down for greater than a 12 months after its epic journey, for over a month now.
Melghat Tiger Reserve Field Director, Srinivas Reddy, informed The Indian Express, “Walker was last seen about a month ago… it has not been seen since then. We guess that it might have moved out in search of a mate.”
Walker had began strolling from the Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal district, the place it was born, in June 2019 to achieve Dnyanganga Sanctuary in December 2019 after a number of twists and turns throughout eight districts of Maharashtra and Telangana. Fitted with a radio collar, the tiger may very well be tracked until February 2020, when its radio collar was taken off by distant management. Since then, the tiger had been stationary within the sanctuary.
Incidentally, Walker was the primary tiger to have been seen in Dnyanganga Sanctuary. This had excited native politicians, with Buldana Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav pitching for offering the animal a mate and turning the sanctuary right into a tiger-bearing space, which, he stated, would increase tourism potential of the world and generate employment.
A committee, arrange underneath Reddy to counsel whether or not a mate may very well be offered to Walker, gave a optimistic report, however Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Nitin Kakodkar is but to provide consent.
Kakodkar stated offering a mate to Walker alone received’t assist. “Dnyanganga is an island. We have to also think of the future when the tiger population grows. Tigers should be able to move in and out thorough corridors. Unless we create congenial conditions for future management, the idea to provide a mate would serve little purpose,” he stated.
“I have not yet received any response on the issue. But now Walker is more than three years old and needs a mate. So, it is likely that it could have moved out in search of one,” stated Reddy.
Asked if there may be any means Walker could be tracked now, Kakodkar stated, “We had studied its movement using a radio collar. After that, we kept tracking the animal using cameras traps. Now, we have let Walker lead its life as it deems fit. In any case, we can’t track a tiger all its life. That’s not possible. But we will keep seeking information about if and when it is seen by people or our staff.”