Berhampur: Residents of Baghasala in Gajapati district are living in fear after forest officials found pug marks of a suspected Royal Bengal Tiger on the outskirts of the village in Paralakhemundi forest division on Tuesday.
The villagers apparently sighted a big cat early in the morning and reported it to forest officials. A forest department team went to the village and collected the animal's pug marks.
"After preliminary analysis, the pug marks have been identified as that of a tiger," said S Anand, divisional forest officer (DFO), Paralakhemundi. Camera traps will be installed in the area to identify the animal.
Forest officials feel the tiger which migrated from Maharashtra and had strayed into Gajapati district in the past, may have returned to the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border district again. Last month, a cattle was found dead at Purunapani under Chandragiri range of the district.
"We suspect the same tiger might have returned to the district," said the DFO.
Patrolling has been intensified in the area to track the animal's movement. "We have also created awareness among the villagers not to venture into the forest alone," said the DFO. Local residents have been asked to inform the forest staff immediately if they spot the animal, forest officials said.