A three-year-old tigress has entered the Bandwan area of West Bengal’s Purulia district from Odisha’s Similipal Reserve Forest. | Photo Credit: The Hindu
A three-year-old tigress has entered the Bandwan area of West Bengal’s Purulia district from Odisha’s Similipal Reserve Forest. The animal reached Purulia from Jhargram district, where it remained for several days. This region of South Bengal, with its fragmented forest, does not have tiger numbers. Forest officials said there is no hunting base to sustain the tiger population. The tiger was brought from Maharashtra to Similipal and fitted with a radio collar.
A senior state government official said the West Bengal Forest Department was trying to take the tiger back to Similipal through the same route. To avoid human-animal conflict, attempts are also being made to catch the animals and release them in wild habitats, said the provincial forest officer. Officials have not disclosed the exact location of the animal to avoid crowds.
Local police and forest officials have asked the general public not to go to the forest. The Central Armed Police Force is helping the police to prevent human-animal conflict. In June 2018, a tiger was hunted by locals after it escaped in the same area of the state.
The Sundarbans mangrove forest of West Bengal has a population of about 100 tigers.
published – December 22, 2024 at 10:03 am IST