A male tiger, originally from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, was tranquilised in a cattle shed at Kurmapuram village, East Godavari district, on Friday evening. The tiger had left its native area 53 days ago and had traveled more than 650 km, crossing Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. It swam across two major rivers, including the Godavari, before entering Papikonda National Park. The tiger was caught around 6:50 p.m. while resting after hunting a buffalo. Earlier that day, it escaped a first tranquilisation attempt near an abandoned house in the same village. Rajahmundry Chief Conservator of Forests B.N.N. Murthy said the operation ended the tiger’s six-day movement in East Godavari. The tiger’s health is stable and it did not attack any humans, mainly preying on cattle. Mr. Murthy, leading the monitoring and tranquilisation, credited continuous forest department effort and police support for crowd control. East Godavari District Forest Officer B. Prabhakara Rao said two male tigers had dispersed from Tadoba in December 2025. One tiger appeared in Telangana’s Khammam district before entering Eluru and then Papikonda National Park in Andhra Pradesh. On January 31, it crossed the Godavari near Polavaram to reach East Godavari, where it killed three cattle on February 1. Pune-based RESQ Trust provided advanced tracking technology and supported the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s expert team. Mr. Murthy noted the tiger needs veterinary care after extensive travel. Authorities will decide if it stays at the Animal Rescue Centre in Visakhapatnam or moves to Tirupati Zoo.