- Tiger crossed over the Brahmaputra on Tuesday and hid in a cave on Peacock island.
- Officials tranquilized and relocated the tiger after a six-hour procedure.
- It has been put in a cage and will be shifted to the Guwahati zoo.
Multiple videos of a full-grown Royal Bengal tiger swimming in Guwahati’s River Brahmaputra are causing concern. The tiger crossed over the Brahmaputra on Tuesday and hid in a cave on Peacock island. Officials tranquilized and relocated the tiger after a six-hour procedure.
Morning walkers and boatmen were pushed by the water to the river island where the Umananda temple is located.
According to local media, the tiger was prowling near the Umananda temple, alarming North Guwahati residents, ferry passengers, and temple worshippers.
A full grown Royal Bengal tiger is found swimming in middle of Brahmaputra River in Guwahati. Tiger is now taking shelter in a rock gap in Umananda Temple in middle of the river. To my surprise, if he came swimming from Kaziranga in Assam, then he has crossed 160 km alone!! 🐯 🐅 pic.twitter.com/6qfzlFFrnJ
— Nandan Pratim Sharma Bordoloi (@NANDANPRATIM) December 20, 2022
A tiger was seen swimming at Umananda today morning @guwahaticity pic.twitter.com/OW8M0EkDI5
— Julee Bezbaruah.Guwahati (@JuleeBezbaruah) December 20, 2022
TIGER RESCUE IN GUWAHATI
Peacock island, the world’s smallest inhabited river island, is in the middle of the Brahmaputra and opposite the Kamrup deputy commissioner’s office.
As it was far from the riverbank, forest staff had trouble tranquilizing the tiger, “The tiger was stuck between two large rocks and the rescue team had to carry out the operation very cautiously.”
The tiger could fall back into the river and perish, and it may not be totally tranquilized and attack rescuers, he warned.
“It took almost six hours for our team to tranquilise the animal, an adult male, and take it out of the cave safely. It has been put in a cage and will be shifted to the Guwahati zoo,” Assam state zoo, said it will be moved to Guwahati.
We won’t know the animal’s condition until it reaches the zoo. We don’t know if the animal left Orang National Park on the south bank of the river.
Exceptional effort put up by the entire team in safely rescuing the tiger that had strayed out to Umananda @assamzoo @DCKamrupMetro @NDRFHQ @assampolice pic.twitter.com/59P4v4dJuX
— Assam Forest Department (@assamforest) December 20, 2022
He added, “We have no idea about the state of the animal and will know only after it is reaches the zoo. The animal could have moved out of the Orang National Park on the south bank of the river, but we can’t sure as of now.”
The tiger may have escaped from Orang National Park in Darrang district and was swept away by the Brahmaputra while drinking water, a forest official said.
NDRF forces evacuated the temple’s priests, worshipers, and tourists aboard a boat docked near Jahaj Ghat. Island priests live there. Ahom King Gadadhar Singha built the Umananda Temple in the 17th century.
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