Pugmarks of big cat found in Bareilly village

BAREILLY: A 10-member forest team is camping at Agras village in Meerganj tehsil, 20 km from Bareily city, after villagers claimed they had sighted a “tiger”. While the team is yet to spot the tiger, it confirmed the presence of pugmarks of a big cat at the village.

Forest officials said they spotted fresh pugmarks on Monday and also found pugmarks which were a week old.

Anil Kumar Mishra

, forest range officer, Meerganj, said, “The pugmarks are of a big cat and is suspected to be a tiger as a leopard has small pugmarks. Our team has been searching for the feline but we are yet to spot it. Once it is sighted by us, it will be tranquilized and nabbed.”

The ranger said the area where the big cat is expected to have strayed has sugarcane fields and is close to Shanka river. It is 2 km from human settlement. It is an ideal spot for tiger habitation as it has plenty of water and prey and the feline can lurk amid the cane stalks, he added. In fact, villagers claimed that the “tiger” had mauled a nilgai to death earlier and that they had spotted it again on Monday morning. “We could not confirm their claim,” said Mishra.

The forest officer said the big cat — tiger or leopard — must have strayed from the

Pilibhit

Tiger Reserve, the nearest forest to Meerganj. The forest is located at a distance of over 60 km from the village.

Meanwhile, the presence of a big cat in the area has created panic among the villagers. A farmer, Virendra Kumar, said, “We have been taking all possible precautions. The forest officials have advised us to stay indoors after sundown. We move about in groups when we go out to work in the fields.”

According to forest officials, Bareilly has only social forestry and hence, it has no wild animals here. “However, five years ago, we had found pugmarks of a tiger at

Sheeshrah

road and it had attacked one person. However, the tiger was not found as it must have gone back to the forest. There may be chance that the tiger or leopard whose pugmarks have been found will also leave Bareilly on its own,” said Mishra.

TOI had earlier reported that whenever any killing by tiger takes place in Pilibhit, it triggers panic in neighbouring Bareilly as social media and forest officials are flooded with fake images or videos of big cats being spotted in the district. “Over the past few years, we have never received a genuine complaint about a tiger sighting. Forest teams have never confirmed presence of big cats in Bareilly. However, this time, we have found pugmarks,” said

Bharat Lal

, divisional forest officer.