VIZIANAGARAM: The elusive tiger on the prowl triggered fear among the people at Jayati village in Mentada mandal after the carcass of a calf was found on Sunday morning. Based on the information by the locals, Vizianagaram Range forest officials reached the spot, examined the carcass and recorded the pugmarks of the big cat. They sounded a high alert in villages surrounding Jayati with the help of revenue and police officials on the movement of the tiger.
The forest officials confirmed that it was the tiger, which has been on the prowl for the past 16 months. According to the sources, a calf, which was tied at a cattle shed on the outskirts of the village, went missing on Saturday night. However, the residents found the half-eaten carcass of the calf near the bushes and suspected that the tiger might have attacked it. Later, they informed the forest officials about the death of the cattle.
Speaking to TNIE, Vizianagaram Forest Range Officer Botcha Appalaraju said, “The elusive tiger killed a calf on the outskirts of Jayati village. Based on the information provided by locals, we reached the spot, examined the carcass and launched the procedure to disburse compensation to the farmer. We are continuously monitoring the movement of the tiger and alerted locals through megaphones to avoid the man-animal conflict.”