Thermal drone technology has offered a rare glimpse into the nocturnal behaviour of a tigress in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR), capturing footage that would otherwise remain unseen. A thermal drone deployed to monitor radio-collared tigress Tara recorded her separating the carcass of a kill before feeding during night hours — a behaviour seldom seen in the wild. Forest officials said such observations are possible only due to advanced night-monitoring technology.
Field Director of STR Tushar Chavan said, “With the help of researchers, we are closely monitoring radio-collared tigress Tara. While the collar provides detailed information on her movement patterns, we are also using advanced thermal drones to track her activity during night hours. The technology has helped us document rare behaviour, including the tigress tigress segregating her prey after a kill before feeding. Such inputs highlight the importance of new technologies like thermal drones in strengthening night-time wildlife monitoring.”
Thermal drone image shows Tara
Tigress Tara was relocated from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve to STR on December 9, 2025, under the Maharashtra Forest Department’s long-term conservation programme. She was radio-collared and released into the core forest area on December 13 after the gates of the soft-release enclosure were opened at 7 am. Officials said the tigress initially stayed within the enclosure, displaying natural wild behaviour by making a successful kill and feeding on it for nearly three days.
By December 18, Tara began exploring her new habitat and settled on the Sonarli plateau. The following day, she moved towards the Chandoli dam backwaters and, on December 19 at around 6 pm, swam across the dam to reach the Jolambi plateau. Spread across Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Ratnagiri districts, the reserve is an important part of the corridor connecting Tilari, Radhanagari, Chandoli, Koyna, and Kali Tiger Reserves in Karnataka.
Officials estimate that around 32 tigers use this corridor, with 14 currently in the Sahyadri region of western Maharashtra. The Maharashtra forest department plans to reintroduce more tigers into the landscape and is also working to boost prey populations by increasing herbivore species such as sambar and chital.
