14 August,2026 08:28 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Camera-trap photographs of T3C1, captured at an artificial waterhole in the Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on May 16. Pic/Maharashtra Forest Department
In March 2021, a young male tiger undertook an extraordinary 330-km journey from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal district to Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, marking the return of such a feline to the latter spot after decades. Nearly five years later, the tiger continues to roam the Gautala landscape.
The tiger was first captured on a camera trap on March 15, 2021, and forest department officials identified it by matching the photograph with the tiger database and found that it was T3C1 (popularly known as Walker II), a male aged over two years who had originated from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Vidarbha.
It was reportedly the first confirmed sighting of a tiger in Gautala after 1940. The tiger's journey from Tipeshwar to Gautala highlighted the importance of functional wildlife corridors across Maharashtra. Experts believe it may have travelled through Pandharkawada, Umarkhed, parts of Telangana, Akola, Dnyanganga in Buldhana, Hingoli, and the Ajanta mountain ranges before reaching Gautala.
While the direct road distance between Tipeshwar and Gautala is around 330 km, experts have estimated that the tiger could have travelled close to 2000 km while navigating forests and agricultural landscapes during its dispersal.
Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary, spread across about 260 sq km, comprises southern tropical dry deciduous forests and grasslands. The landscape supports species such as jungle cat, leopard cat, barking deer, jackal, fox, leopard, wild boar, and chinkara. According to Forest Department data, the sanctuary is home to more than 25 leopards.
The tiger has been using a significant portion of the Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary. More than 20 camera traps have been deployed to monitor its movements, while CCTV cameras have also been installed near artificial waterholes. A forest department official from the sanctuary said, "The tiger is actively using the landscape and has also been hunting wild prey, which is a positive sign." Forest department officials said the latest camera-trap photographs of T3C1 were captured at an artificial waterhole inside Gautala on May 16.
Wildlife Conservationist Kishor Rithe, director, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), said the presence of transient tigers in several parts of Maharashtra highlights the importance of maintaining functional corridors. "There is no guarantee that a tiger will stay in one place permanently. However, tigers are known to disperse, and wherever their historic distribution ranges still have functional corridors, they can move into and adopt suitable habitats. Gautala is not the only such area in Maharashtra. We have seen transient tigers recording their presence and staying for varying periods in areas such as Painganga, Dnyanganga, Mahendri, Kalameshwar, Munia, and Karanja. Even the Umred Pauni Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary was once in a similar situation," said Rithe.
Wildlife conservationist Kedar Gore of the Corbett Foundation said the tiger's long-term presence in Gautala demonstrates that the landscape is capable of supporting a tiger and that connectivity between the two landscapes remains significant. "What is worrying is that it hasn't found a female yet. One needs to assess the quality of connecting forests to the Gautala landscape and the new developmental threats that have emerged in the past five years. If the government wishes to repopulate Gautala with tigers, then it would be necessary to translocate a couple of female tigers to Gautala rather than wait for a female to reach naturally. If prey availability is sufficient, only then translocation should be done. Augmenting prey base will also make sense for the long-term existence of tigers," added Gore.
The continued presence of T3C1 after nearly five years has become an important case study for conservationists. While the male tiger appears to have found sufficient habitat and prey to survive, the absence of a female raises questions about whether Gautala can eventually develop into a breeding tiger landscape.
