Royal Bengal Tiger Caught On Camera Crossing NH 16 Near Berhampur; Leopard Rescued From Poachers’ Trap

Berhampur: A video of a Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT), which was spotted crossing the National Highway 16 near Roland College, on the outskirts of Berhampur city on Wednesday, has gone viral on social media platforms.

According to sources, the Forest Department has intensified patrolling in the nearby areas and installed trap cameras to track the movement of the tiger, which reportedly has been roaming in the area for the last few days. “It is the same tiger whose movement was reported in Patrapur area in January. Awareness campaigns have been launched warning villagers against venturing alone into the forest,” said Berhampur DFO Sunny Khokhar.

Last month, fear gripped Narasinghagada village in Ganjam after pug marks of a suspected RBT were discovered in the nearby forest areas. An auto driver had recently claimed to have seen the tiger roaming near a mill along the Patrapur-Jayantipur main road.

On Wednesday, Forest officials recovered the carcasses of four goats suspected to have been killed by a Bengal tiger at Panada village under Digapahandi forest range. The predator killed the goats and partially consumed them before retreating into the forest. Local residents reported spotting the tiger near Palur hill close to Glanthara on NH-16 a day before the incident.

LEOPARD RESCUED

Forest officials on Thursday rescued a five-year-old male leopard, which was trapped in a snare laid for wild boars at Asanbahal forest in Dhenkanal’s Mahabirod range after a 10-hour-long operation. The animal was tranquilised before being freed from the wire trap. No injury marks was found on its body. The leopard was then sent to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.

A probe is underway to nab those who laid the trap in the forest, said Forest ranger Haresh Kisan.