Royal Bengal Tiger ‘Reappears’ In Forest Near Paralakhemundi In Odisha

Parlakhemundi: A month after a Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) killed a cow in Odisha’s Gajapati district, the pugmarks of the wild cat have been found near Paralakhemundi town.

Panicked by the possible presence of the tiger after finding its pugmarks, the people of the place, located nearly two km from Paralakhemundi in the district, informed the Forest department.

Paralakhemundi DFO S Anand on Tuesday said the Forest personnel visited the exact place where the pugmarks were found and also inspected the surrounding areas. They suspected the presence of RBT and advised the villagers not to come out of their houses at night.

The DFO said the Forest officials were keeping a watch in the forest close to Paralakhemundi and in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh to trace the tiger. He also appealed to the locals to remain alert while moving outside.

It may be noted that the Forest department had set up trap cameras in the forest near Santoshpur village under Gandahati panchayat of the district after the villagers claimed that a tiger had killed a cow on October 20.

The cameras had captured the tiger moving in the forest. Though Forest personnel combed the area to in search of the big cat, they did not succeed. They suspected that it might have moved to the neighbouring Andhra.