LUCKNOW: There is a twist in the tiger tale of Pilibhit now. The officials are of the opinion that it was not one but two tigers involved in human killings which have taken place in Deoria range of Pilibhit forest division. One of the predators, they say, is a tigress.
"We got to know of it after we studied the pugmarks around bodies," said VK Singh, DFO, Pilibhit. All the men have not been killed by a tiger but a stray tigress has also killed and partially eaten humans. On the other hand, last indication towards big cats still roaming in the area came on August 3 when a partially eaten carcass of blue bull was found at Pasgawan compartment of Deoria range. "However, there has been killing reported after we found the carcass of blue bull," added DFO.
The compartment where carcass was found lying is about 4 km away from the site where the partially eaten body of Jamuna Prasad, resident of Dilawarpur village, was found lying on July 27. His body was recovered by forest officials from Ghundchai forest beat in Deoria range. This indicates that tigers have not changed their location.
After the fact about two big cats roaming in the area came to light, forest officials have installed 40 digital cameras over 712 sq km of Deoria range. The entire range has been divided into 20 grids of 4 sq km each and a camera has been installed in every grid. The cameras will be in place for the next one month. "This will help us know how many tigers are there in the area who could be involved in man killings," added the DFO.
The camera trappings so far have shown the presence of one stray tiger only. The big cats have killed and partially eaten five men since May 3 till July 26 in Deoria range. The forest department is manning the area to keep any more human killings at bay. The villagers are not allowed to enter forest area and are being detained for trespassing.
However, what has made forest officials a little relaxed is the fact that killing of a blue bull shows that aberrant tiger could be going for its natural prey. The camera trappings for over a month-long period will help know more about the behaviour of other tigers in the area as well.
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