Nirmal: Movement of another tiger continued to trigger panic among rural folks in Kanakapur and Parimandal villages of Laxmanachanda mandal for the second day on Sunday.
In-charge District Forest Officer Nagini Banu said that pugmarks of a tiger were recorded in a cotton crop on the outskirts of Parimandal village. She stated that they were tracking the movement of the tiger by installing the CCTV cameras and deploying animal trackers. She noted that the gender and age of the tiger were yet to be ascertained.
The Forest officials suspected a male tiger, named S-12, sighted in the forests of Tiryani, might have drifted towards Nirmal district to chase away a male tiger popular as Johnny which moved in this landscape till a few days back.
Belonging to Painganga Wildlife Sanctuary in Nanded and Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, Johnny recently returned to native state following its unsuccessful attempt to find a female companion after ttravelling for over 350 kilometers in the forests of Adilabad and Nirmal districts for around a month.
The S-12 roamed in the forests of Luxettipet and Kasipet mandals recently. It initially strayed into the forests of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in search of territory a few months ago.
The officials advised villagers to be cautious and to avoid sudden confrontation with the tiger. They urged the farmers not to harm the tiger by setting electrified fences meant for preventing damage of crops by wild animals. They added the compensation would be extended to the farmers quickly if their cattle were killed by the tiger.
Meanwhile, residents of both Kanakapur and Parimandal villages claimed that they sighted a tiger in agriculture fields. They requested the officials to take steps to prevent loss of humans by diverting the tiger deep inside of the forests. They regretted that they stalled harvesting of the cotton crop following the movement of the big cat.
