A Royal Bengal Tiger allegedly struck terror in R Udayagiri range of the Gajapati district by hunting two heads of cattle. The report in this regard came on Tuesday. Following the incident, people in the area have been living in a state of panic.
As per reports, Timiti Bhuyan, a resident of Uama village under R Udaygiri range, had tethered his ox and calf outside his cottage on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, he was shocked to see body parts of his cattle lying scattered near the cottage. Bhuyan alleged that the cattle were allegedly eaten up by a big cat. He informed the Forest Department about the incident.
Timiti Bhuyan said, “I tied my domestic animals on Saturday. A tiger killed and ate them up on Saturday night. Their body parts were found in the morning. The tiger scats were found there too.”
On Tuesday, a team of forest officials along with some staff of the veterinary department rushed to the spot and examined the pugmarks and scats. They started an investigation into the matter and collected samples of the pugmarks and scats. The scats were sent for laboratory tests.
Rajesh Paika, a livestock inspector, said, “I got information about two domestic animals having been killed by some wild animals in Uama village. The body parts of the two cattle were lying there. Some wild animals might have killed the cattle. The fecal matter and the pugmarks of the wild animal were found. The animal could be a tiger, but it can be only confirmed after the test report of the samples.”
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As for the incident, Gajapati DFO S Anand said, “We have been tracking the movements of a tiger. It is the same tiger that might have killed the cattle. The big cat has gone into the Gudari range in the Rayagada district."
This incident came days after a Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) allegedly killed a cow at Anlabar under the Debagiri range in the same district. The incident took place on November 23. Later the forest department got the clue of the RBT after its image was captured in a trap camera in the area.