Alert after tigress moves out of forest with cubs

PTR officials advise villagers to stay away from the fields, team deployed to trace big cat to push it back

BAREILLY Officials of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) have issued fresh alert for people living near the reserve asking them to “stay away from the farms” where a tigress with her cubs is said to be putting up.

The advisory was issued on Thursday after two days of consecutive tiger sighting in the area.

“The tigress and two cubs are reported to be living in Raipur village of Madhotanda block. Forest teams are combing the area to steer her back into the forest but in the meantime we have advised the villagers to stay away from that area,” said divisional forest officer (DFO) of PTR Kailash Prakash.

Reportedly, the tigers prefer to move away from known tiger territories in order to provide a safe environment for their newborn cubs.

“Sugarcane fields located near the reserve acts like a false habitat and tigers do move out of the reserve with young cubs,” the DFO said.

The sugarcane field where the young tigress is said to be staying is close to the spot where a tiger had attacked a farmer on Sunday. The attack and previous killings have further alarmed the villagers about the presence of the tiger.

“We are worried about our children who pass through the sugarcane field to reach school. Our crops are suffering too,” said Gurbaksh Singh, a resident of Raipur Village.

Kulwinder Singh, a member of village panchayat committee said the villagers have not tended their fields since Tuesday. “We are following the advice of the forest officials and avoiding the farms but it cannot go for long. The forest department must take away the tigress from our fields,” he said.

Meanwhile, the forest team that is searching for the big cat in the fields has so far failed to trace it.

“We are covering a large area of over several kilometres and the operation will take some time,” said the DFO. The forest department has also deployed a team near the village.

“The team is deployed after the sunset to avoid any man-animal conflict at night,” said the DFO.

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