Big cat on prowl, keeps officials on their toes in AP
GUNTUR: Days after three tigers were spotted in forest fringe areas of Durgi mandal in Palnadu, in a similar incident, a big cat was spotted near Gurazala in the district on Monday.Though the movement of the wild animal was captured in a camera near Gurazala, the forest department officials are yet to confirm if it was a leopard or tiger.
The two back-to-back incidents of the big cat being sighted in the district has left the residents in a grip of fear. Soon after learning about the information, the police personnel and the forest department officials rushed to the town and immediately launched a search operation on Monday night.
Speaking to TNIE, Palnadu district forest officer Ramachandra Rao said, “We have to investigate further to ascertain if the animal is a leopard or tiger. As Gurazala town is over 10 km away from the fringe area of the forests, the reason for a tiger roaming in a human habitation so far is very unusual.”
Additional personnel have been deployed in Gurazala and surrounding villages and six camera traps have been set up to trace the big cat, he added.Meanwhile, the officials appealed the public not to spread any fake news, which might worsen the situation and increase the panic among the people.
Just a month ago, three big cats sighted in the fringe areas of Durgi mandal kept the officials on their toes. The locals were panicked after the tigers attacked a cattle and killed a cow.The officials along with NSRT officials launched a search operation and set up camera traps. But, the big cats returned to their own habitation in NSRT, which came as a huge relief to both public and officials.