Another Royal Bengal Tiger on the run? One cow, calf critically injured in Lalgarh

Kolkata: Once again, residents of Lalgarh are spending sleepless nights being scared that a tiger might have entered the village.

The fear has hit the entire village of Lalgarh in Jhargram after one full grown cow and a calf were found critically injured in an attack by an unidentified animal on Saturday morning.

The Forest department officials are yet to confirm the animal that had attacked the cow and a calf. A search was conducted by the Forest department officials on Sunday but they have failed to trace the animal.

It may be mentioned that a full grown Royal Bengal tiger was found dead a few months ago in the same area where the incident took place on Saturday.

The tiger had strayed into the forests of Lalgarh, from a tiger habitat, hundreds of kilometres away. It was found dead inside the Baghghara forest area in April this year with multiple injury marks on his neck and eyes. The villagers have claimed to have found pug marks at various places in the past few days.

The Forest department is yet to confirm whether the footprints found in the Lalgarh forests are of a tiger. Senior forest department officials suspect that they might be of some other animal. A probe has been started in this regard.

It was learnt that one Aswini Manna, a resident of Baghghara forest, had taken his four cows and a calf for grazing in the forest on Saturday morning. He left the cows inside the forest and returned home. In the afternoon, three cows returned home, however, the other two did not.

Manna went back into the forest only to find his cow and calf serious injured. Several deep injury marks were there on various parts of their bodies. The injuries were caused by sharp claws, suspect the villagers.

A senior forest department official in the district said they are looked into matter.

Forest personnel have already started a search operation in the area. There is nothing to spread panic, the official said.