From worries over weddings to classes going online, an elusive ‘sugarcane tiger’ turns life upside down in 11 villages near Lucknow

The big cat, which has killed 12 animals so far, continues to evade capture by the Uttar Pradesh forest department. Renu Singh, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Lucknow Division, said around 100 officials have been working round the clock to capture the tiger. To streamline efforts, the department has divided the affected area into three zones.

To determine the animal’s origin point, the department compared its photographs — focusing on its stripe pattern, which are unique to each tiger — against those of tigers from reserves across the state. With no match in the database, forest officials suspect that it is a “sugarcane tiger” — a big cat that is born, inhabits and moves around in sugarcane fields more comfortably than in forest areas, its natural habitat.

A forest official told The Indian Express, “We believe the tiger arrived here from Lakhimpur Kheri in the Terai region, nearly 200 km away. Pugmarks found in the area recently suggest that it may be returning home. Efforts are on to provide a safe passage to the animal.”

Uttar Pradesh’s Terai region spans 15 districts, extending from Saharanpur in the west to Kushinagar in the east. Nearly 70% of land in this region is under sugarcane cultivation.

Talking about “sugarcane tigers”, a forest official says, “These tigers grow up watching their mothers hunt in these fields and co-exist with humans. They also observe how their mothers move to a different sugarcane patch during the harvest season instead of the forest since these fields are never harvested together.”

A tiger sighting is reported

In the first week of December 2024, there were whispers of a tiger lurking in the fields of Karjhan village, around 20 km from Lucknow. Initially dismissed as “rumours”, two developments on December 12, 2024, confirm these claims: over 100 pugmarks were discovered over a 2-km stretch in the village and the tiger hunted a nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus).

One of the affected villages wears a deserted look due to the tiger threat. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

A day later, on December 13, a forest team set up a base camp at the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture in Rehman Khera village to monitor and capture the big cat. Though just one official so far has caught a glimpse of the tiger, the team has determined that it is a young adult male aged around five years.

With the tiger continuing to elude all the traps laid by the team, over 20,000 residents in the affected villages have been living under high alert since December 2024.

A banner warning the residents of one of the affected villages near Lucknow. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Besides putting banners on do’s and don’ts across villages, officials have announced protocols. “We have asked residents to move in groups. They have also been asked to avoid stepping outside between 5 pm and 7 am, and to make loud noises if they need to go out at night,” says an official.

To ensure the safety of residents returning from functions or trips outside the district, the forest department has arranged for vehicles to transport them back to their homes at night. “Two teams have been deployed on night duty to ensure the public reach their homes safely,” says Sitanshu Pandey, Divisional Forest Officer, Lucknow.

Ravindra Prasad Yadav, pradhan, Duguli village, says the residents have also been requested not to leave their animals outside at night. With the forest department restricting the entry of outsiders into these villages, The Indian Express was allowed to enter the area under strict supervision.

A similar scare in 2012

Locals say the current prohibitory orders have revived memories of 2012 — when another tiger had entered the thickets of Rehman Khera village and stayed put for nearly three months, before it was captured by the forest department.

At the nearby Meethenagar village, which has a population of around 2,000, the residents sit in a group outside their non-cemented houses. Soaking in the winter sun, they discuss the methods they think the forest team should use to catch the tiger.

“If the team had followed the measures used by the one that had captured the tiger in 2012, it would have caught the beast by now. I think they need to focus on the watering holes frequented by the tiger,” says Anshu Yadav, 28, a farmer, as others nod in agreement.

Over the past month, the forest team has been using advanced surveillance equipment — 32 camera traps, seven CCTV cameras and three drones, including two thermal ones — to track the tiger. Two elephants from the state’s Dudhwa National Park, a tranquilising team, police personnel and officials from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) have also been deployed to assist in the operation.

Akashdeep Badhawan, the nodal officer for the operation, says, “Experts from various fields are working together to ensure there is no human-animal conflict during the process.”

A cage set up by the forest department to catch the elusive tiger at Rehman Khera village near Lucknow. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

The forest team has set up four massive cages, painted emerald green, to trap the tiger. Bricks near these cages have been doused in a tigress’s urine to lure the young male into the trap. The department has also constructed three machans (platforms) at various locations to monitor the tiger’s movements.

The machan made by the forest department to monitor the tiger’s movements at Rehman Khera village near Lucknow. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

In a first for the department, it has appointed a few local village residents as ‘Bagh Mitras’, who have been tasked with providing information about the tiger to the department and communicating the team’s instructions to the local community.

And yet, fear continues to grip the region. While most residents venture into their fields or thickets in groups, others say they cannot wait “forever” for the tiger to get caught.

An exasperated Ravi Yadav, a resident of Ulrapur village and the owner of a medical store, says, “I have been closing my shop before it gets dark. How long will I need to keep doing this?”

With the wedding season round the corner, others expressed concern over the status of ceremonies. “With the tiger threat hanging over our heads, our relatives are unwilling to attend these wedding ceremonies. There is a wedding in my family in a nearby village. If the tiger is not captured soon, we may have to move the venue elsewhere,” says Manoj Kumar Yadav of Rehman Khera village.

All schools in the affected area have been asked to stay closed till the tiger is captured. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Even schools in these villages have been affected, with the District Magistrate directing all the schools concerned to hold online classes till further orders. Padmakar Maurya, Block Education Officer, Lucknow, says, “The order came into effect when the schools reopened after their winter vacation, which ended on January 15. The affected villages have 25 government and private schools that are attended by nearly 3,000 students.”

Ramita Maurya, principal, government primary school, Meethenagar village, says only 50% of his students have been attending online classes. “Most of them don’t have access to cell phones. In case the family owns one phone, the breadwinner usually takes it away in the morning. We have advised the children to attend online classes in groups to ensure no one loses out.”