The tiger, which is yet attain adulthood, is suspected to have crossed the bustling four-lane NH6 near Kalmeshwar and Kondhali, besides several human settlements, nullahs and agriculture fields before reaching Katol forest.

On February 24 TOI had reported how a male tiger from Kolsa region in Tadoba (Chandrapur district) had dispersed 140 km to Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) which is located in Bhandara and Gondia districts.

The 18-month-old cub, which reached Paradsinga in Katol around 40 km from Bor, was among the four siblings - one male and three females - of the popular Bor tigress BTR-T3, nicked name Katrina.

The four were born to Katrina in Bor sometime in September 2014, when the parks are closed for tourism. The tigress was first sighted with her 2.5-month-old cubs on December 24, 2014 by tourists from Nagpur.

Later, the tigress was sighted with her cubs regularly near Borban, Salai Kala, Navargaon and Umarvihiri areas of the park. In first week of June, Katrina and her cubs had moved to a nullah in Bori (Kokate) near Salaipevat area. While the tigress and three female cubs returned to the reserve, the male cub stayed back.

Later, the cub was sighted intermittently by locals and staff on the northern side of the reserve till June 2015. After that it disappeared lending credence to a poaching theory.

"Finally, the cub was recorded after six months in camera traps with its other siblings on December 11, 2015 in Bhulaidoh area of the park," says UttamSawant, assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Bor.

Last week, on Tuesday and Wednesday there were reports of goat and nilgai kills by a tiger in Yeranda-Pandhakni area in Paradsinga of Katol. Nagpur deputy conservator (DyCF) Jayoti Banerjee visited the spot and asked district honorary wildlife warden Kundan Hate to install camera traps in which tiger was recorded.

The photo of the tiger was handed over to Bor officials who matched its stripe pattern with available videos and photos. They confirmed it was the same cub that had gone missing from the reserve.

Usually, a cub leaves its mother only after it turns two. Though the Bor cub's dispersal is against the laws of nature, Bilal Habib, a scientist from Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, says: "Male tigers can disperse even after 1.5 years. It depends on circumstances. If a dominant male in that area is harassing a young male than it is possible he may disperse."

The 138 sqkmBor is a source area but is too small to hold back growing a tiger population. The reserve already has a dominant male 'Bajirao' and hence the weak has to either fight for territory or give way. "It is possible that 'Bajirao' may have driven the cub away," said Bilal.

"The dispersal of the tiger cub is an indicator that even small forest patches adjoining protected areas (PAs) are vital in conserving tigers," says MS Reddy, CCF & field director of Bor.

Banerjee said villagers in the area have been told not to move alone in the forests. "The carnivore will help keep tab on herbivore population damaging crops," she felt.

"Though there is record of 4-6 new cubs every year, this is for the second time dispersal of tigers from Bor has been recorded. In February 2015, a Bor tiger had traversed 140 km to reach Pohra-Malkhed reserve forest near Amravati. We plan to radio-collar some of the cubs in Umred-Karhandla and Bor," said Reddy.

Conservationist PrafullaBhamburkar says maintaining habitat connectivity is important "for genetic exchange and protection from poaching".