Berhampur: Fear gripped Narasinghagada village in Ganjam after pugmarks of a suspected Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) were discovered in the nearby forest areas.
Villagers suspect the big cat may have migrated from Maharashtra last year. Forest officials checked the pugmarks and installed at least four camera traps in the area to identify the animal.
“After receiving complaints from villagers, a team of forest officials rushed to the spot and collected the animal’s pugmarks for analysis. From the pugmarks, it was suspected to be those of a big cat,” said Sunny Khokkar, divisional forest officer (DFO) Berhampur.
“The forest personnel, who had camped in the area to track the movement of the animal, could not sight the tiger. The image of the animal has also not been captured in the camera traps installed on Saturday. There has been no report of any cattle killing in the area so far,” added the DFO. To ensure safety, additional forest personnel, led by assistant conservator of forests (ACF) and wildlife expert, Berhampur forest division, Rudra Prasad Rath have installed more camera traps to identify the animal.
The ACF said that 70 to 80 personnel are tracking the suspected tiger while creating awareness among villagers. They have been advised not to venture into the forest alone and to secure their cattle inside sheds at night.