After attack, Dudhwa officials out to trap tiger

SHAHJAHANPUR: After the tiger scare at Chedipur village in Mailani range of South Kheri forest, officials of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve are taking no chances at Bela Kalan village where a big cat mauled a man, Bhikarilal, to death on Friday evening. The forest officials immediately responded by sending a team to the village the night. On Saturday, 10 camera traps were installed in the area for tracking and monitoring the tiger.The experts of Wildlife Trust of India are assisting the forest officials in the operation.
However, after the incident, the tiger has not been sighted near the village. Till Sunday evening, no picture of the tiger was captured in the camera traps but officials found its faeces and pug marks. They are studying them to ascertain if the big cat is a male or female.
The villagers have been advised to ensure that they work in groups and make noise while working in their fields. They were also told to make sure that they do not go out to defecate in the open and if they go out, then they should keep away from the cane fields.
Posters have been pasted at various important location of the villages advising people to be cautious.
Deputy director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Mahaveer Kaujalgi said, “After it was confirmed that Bhikarilal was killed by a tiger, we have taken steps that it does not attack any human again. We are monitoring the villages very closely. We have installed camera traps and elephants are being used for searching the tiger. We just want the tiger to change its territory and move deeper into the forest. We are not initiating any tranquilizing operation as of now.”