SPOTTED AGAIN: THIS TIME 5 KM FROM KANPUR

LUCKNOW: It’s been over a month since the elusive tiger strayed into human space and forest department officials started following its pugmarks.

The big cat was first spotted in Sitapur district on October 15.

It then travelled through the outskirts of Lucknow and entered Unnao. The animal was last spotted 5 km away from Kanpur district on Sunday night after the CCTV camera in the bordering area of Kanpur-Unnao captured another photograph of the tiger.

“The pictures and study of its pugmarks suggest that it is the same tiger that was spotted in Sitapur. The big cat has now moved towards Kanpur from Unnao. One cannot set a deadline as to how long it will take to capture the animal,” explained Eva Sharma, chief conservator, forest.

The animal’s exact location is in Silaluli village. DFO Unnao, district administration and Dr Utkarsh Shukla, Lucknow zoo vet are working round the clock to trap the animal.

“We have procured elephants from Dudhwa to track the tiger. A cage with a bait is also being used. The teams are combing the area with the help of elephants and also watching the pugmarks to track the big cat’s movement. The animal is only killing the blue bulls for its food and there are no reports this tiger having caused any harm to human life,” added Sharma.

Human intervention in the area - where the feline was spotted with the help of CCTV cam a day ago - has been reduced to zero. This has been done as there has been no report of the tiger making a kill for the past few days and with humans moving near the animal, there might be a threat to their lives, said the forest official.