Pug marks found at Peddapalli forest area

VISAKHAPATNAM: Pug Marks of the tiger, which has been giving sleepless nights to people, were found in Peddapalli forest area.Yelamanchili forest section officers identified pug marks of the tiger in Peddapalli forest area on Saturday.The tiger might have strayed into the area via Kokkirapalli from Ramachandrapuram in Kotauratla mandal after killing a buffalo in Srirampuram.

The forest officials along with revenue staff sounded an alert in Peddapalli and other neighbouring villages of Mantripalem and Gollapalem and asked people not to go to the forest area. Farmers were advised not to take cattle for grazing. District Forest Officer Anant Shankar on Saturday said pug marks were identified in Peddapalli area in the early morning after people informed them and a special monitoring team has been deployed.

They also set up cameras to monitor movement of the tiger. There are five human habitations in the area and awareness programmes were organised with the help of village elders.He said he spoke to the district collector on the issue. He said the tiger, which was on the move, is a male tiger and it is the same one which strayed into Anakapalle district from Tuni. He appealed to people not to believe reports and videos which were going viral in social media. All of them are fake and old videos and are creating panic among people, he explained.

“There is no need to panic as officials are monitoring the situation 24x7 and camera traps are set up. Despite the difficult situation due to the monsoon, officials were able to track tiger movement of the tiger for the last one month,” he said.

He said people take all precautions. They should not sleep in the open spaces outside their house. They should avoid going into forest areas. In case of attack on cattle, they should inform the forest officials. The government will pay compensation, he said.

Anant Shankar said though the tiger has been on the move for the last one month in the human habitations, it did not harm anyone. The tiger might go back to its original habitation. The tiger is not staying at one place. Because of the monsoon, chances of the tiger visiting the water bodies are less, he said.