Bhubaneswar: After Deogarh, purported tiger pugmarks were spotted near Kankurapal village under Chhendipada range in Odisha’s Angul district on Wednesday.
The tracks showed that the big cat had crossed a nearby river and moved to the opposite side of the forest.
Acting on the information, Chhendipada forest range officials rushed to the spot and collected samples of the footprints. Villagers were also cautioned against entering the forest, particularly at nigh, through public address systems.
Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF), Angul, Sanjay Kumar Swain said that a tiger, which had been roaming in the Deogarh area for the past month, entered Chhendipada forest division two days ago according to the information shared by Rourkela RCCF.
Trap cameras have been installed at various strategic points in the forest and a special monitoring team has been formed to monitor the suspected tiger’s movement and conduct regular patrolling in the area.
The forest department has also urged villagers to promptly report any sightings of the tiger or fresh signs of its activity.
On Tuesday, pugmarks were found near Jharmunda village forest, close to Babaji Math village, in Reamal forest range of Deogarh district. Subsequently, the forest department installed 43 trap cameras in the forest to track the tiger.
However, it is yet to be confirmed if the pugmarks belonged to a tiger or an adult leopard.
In August, a tiger, believed to have traveled about 150 km from Chhattisgarh’s Gomarda wildlife sanctuary to Odisha in four days with sightings recorded in Hemgiri, Kholbilung (Bamra range), and near Jharsuguda, was spotted in Sundargarh’s Bonai forest division. Forest officials confirmed that it was a seven-year-old male tiger from the pugmarks. Though the animal did not harm humans, it injured a cow.
The big cat was suspected to have moved into the adjoining Deogarh forest division last month.
Whether it is the same tiger is also yet to be ascertained.