Berhampur: A cow was killed by a suspected tiger at Andharijhulla under Narayanpur forest range in Gajapati district on Wednesday. Forest officials recovered the carcass and buried it after conducting a post-mortem.
Forest officials said a wild animal, suspected to be a Royal Bengal Tiger, dragged the cow out from the cowshed of owner Jayadev Sabara and ate some portions.
Villagers suspect it might be the tiger prowling in the Baghasala area near Paralakhemundi, about 12 km from the Andharijhulla, on Tuesday. After analysing the pugmarks, forest officials confirmed it was a tiger. The tiger, however, was not camera-trapped, forest officials said.
Panic gripped villagers after the fresh attack by the suspected tiger.
The tiger, which migrated from Maharashtra last year, has killed several cows, calves and goats in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts.
S Anand, divisional forest officer (DFO), said forest officials visited the spot to collect moulds of the pugmarks and to install camera traps. He said compensation would be provided to the cow’s owner after completing all procedures.
He said they would install several camera traps to capture the picture of the animal. At least four teams have been formed to track the movement of the animal and to create awareness among villagers not to venture into the forest alone.
Forest officials have also advised villagers not to leave their cattle grazing alone.