Big cat spotted in Lakhimpur village
LAKHIMPUR KHERI Panic gripped twin villages of Gaziapur and Mahadev Tanda in Nighasan tehsil when a big cat strayed away from the neighbouring reserve forest areas and took shelter in a sugarcane field. A WWF expert team led by Dabir Hasan and a Dudhwa buffer zone (earlier known as north Kheri forest division) team led by deputy ranger Ram Milan have been engaged to keep a watch on the movements of the big cat, reported to be a full grown tigress.
“The tigress is hiding in a sugarcane field which is just 500 to 600 metres away from the reserve forest area,” Dabir Hasan told HT. While describing the big cat to be a tigress from its pugmarks, Hasan said, “Our efforts are to drive back the big cat to the neighbouring forests.”
When asked if it was the same tigress in Mahadev Tanda on Tuesday, which had killed a cow in Gaziapur on Sunday, Hasan did not rule out the possibility and said, “No movements of the big cat were, however, noticed in Gaziapur area which is just six to seven km away from Mahadev Tanda. This could be ascertained
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only after matching the pugmarks.” The residents of Mahadev Tanda were left panicky on Tuesday when they heard roar of a tiger in their neighbourhood. The tiger had attacked an ox tied to a tree near a canefield. However, the ox was lucky to have broken loose of the rope and survived while the tiger hid into the cane field. Village head Jabbar Khan intimated the forest and police officials, who rushed to the spot. The forest officials have warned the people not to get close to or irritate the tiger.