On January 20, between 4 pm and 5 pm, a fortunate tourist had an extraordinary sighting of tigress Tara on the Zholambi forest safari route in Chandoli

Already, Tara has astounded and delighted forest officials with her daring 1.5-km swim across the chilly, crocodile-infested waters of the Chandoli dam

Tara was relocated from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) in western Maharashtra on December 18 after being fitted with a radio collar

She was initially believed to be settling into her new surroundings (Representational Image)

However, forest department officials and wildlife researchers tracking her movements have learnt that she has swum across the Chandoli dam, possibly in search of a mate or to carve out a territory of her own (Representational Image)