A male tiger that crossed over from Telangana is now moving around the Buttayagudem area in Andhra Pradesh. Forest officials find that this tiger is probably a sub-adult with poor hunting skills, though this is not yet confirmed. "Based on stripe verification, there is a 99% possibility that this is a new tiger not the one sighted a couple of years ago," said P. Venkat Sandeep Reddy, Divisional Forest Officer of Eluru. Camera trap images show no signs of territory markings like urine sprays or scrape marks, which means the tiger is likely just passing through during its seasonal dispersal in January. In the last two days, the tiger has been linked to five cattle kills in villages like Antarvedigudem and K. Nagavaram. Forest Range Officer Durga Kumar Babu said, "An alert has been sounded in the nearby habitations." Polavaram Deputy Superintendent of Police M. Venkateswara Rao added that village alarms (tom-toms) are arranged to warn locals and requested people not to enter forests for firewood or grazing. Forest teams are keeping watch day and night, working with police and village authorities. Telangana officials are also asked to check for similar cattle attacks. The tiger was first tracked moving from Telangana’s Kawadigundla forest on January 21. Officials continue monitoring to understand if the tiger will move on or stay longer in Andhra Pradesh.