KOLKATA: In the fourth incident of tiger straying in the Sunderbans in less than a month, another big cat entered a village on the fringes of the tiger reserve area late on Monday night and killed a few cattle animals.
The incident, this time, happened at Mathurakhand village near the forest compartments of Pirkhali II and III. According to villager Habul Das, he could sense the movement of the big cat around 1am on Tuesday. “I, along with some of my neighbours, immediately went to our farm to find the tiger sitting at one corner. It had already killed three goats, kept under a mosquito net, and a cow. As we flashed torchlight on its face, he jumped out of the place inside the farm where it was hiding and went to the local forest on the edge of our village,” said Das, adding that on the other side of this forest is Bidyadhari river beyond which lies the forest compartment of Pirkhali.
Later in the morning, pugmarks nearby helped villagers trace the tiger at the nearby mangrove thicket. Soon, foresters were informed and they swung into action with a team of 60 staff.
Anil Mistry of Wildlife Protection Society of India, who’s also in the field, said that they have spotted the tiger and surrounded all four sides, where it’s hiding now, with nylon nets. According to Justine Jones, deputy field director of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, the department was also in the process of placing two trap cages with baits to capture the animal.
“Like earlier, we have to find out its movement pattern. We are placing the trap cages with baits so that we can capture it. If needed, we have kept our team of tranquillising experts ready who will be pressed into service to dart the animal.” said Jones. He added that the department might use excavator machines and even play recorded audio clip of a female tiger’s roars to bring the tiger out of the thicket.
