GUWAHATI: An adult Royal Bengal tiger attacked people after straying out of an Assam forest on Tuesday, leaving at least two of them injured.
The incident occurred on the outskirts of Tezpur town. When reports last came in, the animal was still in the open, leaving people panic-stricken.
Forest officials rushed to the site to control the situation. They suspect that the tiger might have strayed out of Kaziranga National Park or Nameri National Park and Forest Reserve.
“We don’t know if the animal had moved out of Kaziranga. Usually, the tigers of Nameri use a patch along Jia Bharali river area for movement,” Kaziranga Field Director P Sivakumar told The New Indian Express.
He said a team of veterinarians and two supporting teams rushed to the site for an operation. The situation was being monitored by the Divisional Forest Officer, Tezpur.
“We will take a call on the nature of the operation after assessing the field conditions. A tranquilising team is there. If needed, we will tranquilise it or drive it away,” Sivakumar said.
He added, “If it is confined to a building, it is easy to tranquilise. But if it is in an open field, it becomes difficult. After a shot of dart, the animal might run away and cause further damage.”