Serial sheep-killer still on prowl, forest staff clueless
BHUBANESWAR: The sheep-killer of Niali continued to perplex Forest Department and locals alike. With a section of the media claiming to have unravelled the mystery, the culprit is yet to be spotted. The stealthy predator is still on a rampage.
Though the City Forest Division has been contemplating to resort to camera-trap the species on the haunt, it still is clueless how to go about it. A large spread of betel vines located between the villages and rivers were posing hurdles because the vegetation is believed to be used as hide-outs of the animals. The sporadic nature of attack has also baffled the forest officials.
“Installation of CCTVs at five places is being planned but we are not sure if these cameras can capture the animals which have struck at different places,” said a forest official. The forest staff along with police have been camping at villages abutting Bhanragarh reserve forest since Monday and the surveillance continues. The rains have admittedly posed a problem in sighting the animals which are known to hibernate during the season.
The forest officials have also dismissed a video clip showing a hyena carrying a baby sheep saying that the scavengers do not essentially feast on livestock but on carcasses.
What baffles everyone is that the forest officials are still clueless about the type of species engaged in this kind of widespread terror in an area spread over 200 square km even after a week. The footprints of the predators they are examining could that be of yearlings or wild dogs. As a measure of precaution, the forest division has been advised to use crackers to drive away the animals from near the villages, PCCF SS Srivastava said.