Berhampur: A calf was killed by an unidentified wild animal at Hajapalli under Ghumusar North forest division’s Jagannath Prasad range in Ganjam district on Monday.
Forest officials suspect that a wild animal dragged the calf, which was kept in a village cowshed, for a few metres and left behind some of its body parts after eating it before going back into the forest.
Himansu Sekhar Mohanty, divisional forest officer (Ghumusar north division), said, “Forest officials have rushed to the spot to collect the pugmarks of the animal. Compensation would be provided to the calf owner after completing all procedures.”
He added, “We will install around 25 camera traps to capture the picture of the animal in and nearby areas. At least four teams have been formed, involving 20 personnel, to track the movement of the animal, while one of the teams has asked villagers not to enter the forest area alone. We can’t tell what animal it is unless it is identified.”
Villagers suspect it might be a Royal Bengal Tiger that killed the calf.
A suspected tiger has killed at least 17 cattle, including calves in the division in the last four months and second in the last four days, sources said. On July 19, a calf was killed at Tirikumpa village, about 20km away from Hajapalli.
Forest officials have also advised people not to leave their cattle alone for grazing and the cattle should be kept inside the shed during the night with lighting in the area.

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