Panic grips Asifabad village after locals spot big cat on Bejjur road

ADILABAD: Fear has gripped those living in Lodapelli village, situated on the outskirts of Penchkalpet range, after a tiger attacked three cattle. Meanwhile, several motorists have now come forward claiming that they saw the big cat prowling on the Bejjur road in Kumrambheem-Asifabad district.

On learning about these incidents, Forest Department officials visited the spot, collected pugmarks and inspected the area. According to sources, the three cattle were attacked just 20 metres away from the village. The forest officials are under the assumption that the recently spotted big cat might either be A2 or S8 that have been on the prowl in the area.

Speaking to Express, Kumrambheem-Asifabad District Forest Officer (DFO) Shantharam said that the authorities concerned have already installed CCTV cameras in the region to monitor the movement of the tiger(s), since big cats have the habit of visiting the spot where they killed an animal soon after the incident.

Apart from arranging a base camp in the area, the officials have also deployed special teams to monitor the movement of the wild animal. The DFO also assured to provide `25,000 each to the farmers who lost their cattle.