Kolkata: A Royal Bengal Tiger that crossed over to West Bengal from Jharkhand a few days ago, has gone back to the neighbouring state, a senior forest official said on Tuesday.
The full-grown adult male crossed over to the forested parts in Jharkhand from the Jangalmahal area in West Bengal on Monday night, Chief Conservator of Forests S Kulandaivel said.
The senior forest official said the big cat is believed to be on the side of the Dalma forest range in Jharkhand.
The tiger had crossed over to West Bengal’s Jangalmahal area, consisting of Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura districts, on January 19-20 and moved a distance of about 20 km in the past seven days.
“It had also crossed the highways crisscrossing the belt at dusk but stayed deep inside forests avoiding humans. The forest department personnel kept track of its movement through pug marks and trap cameras,” the official said.
It moved along Belpahari in Jhargram, Bandwan in Purulia and Ranibandh in Bankura district.
The tiger had first crossed over to Bengal from Jharkhand on January 12, went back to the neighbouring state after a few days and then returned to West Bengal on January 19-20. “It is quite natural for an animal like a tiger to behave in such way. They are in search of new territory,” Kulandaivel said.