A tiger that recently hunted a cow has crossed the Koel River into the Palamu Tiger Reserve from the forests of the Bhandaria area, sparking concern among local villagers. Reports indicate that the tiger was spotted in the Kurun forest of the Bhandaria police station late last night.
The presence of the tiger has heightened fear in the already troubled regions of Ramakanda, Bhandaria, and Bargarh, which have been grappling with incidents of elephant and bear attacks. On the night of November 13, the tiger reportedly killed a cow owned by Shivkumar Singh of Baherakhand. Villagers found some remains of the carcass in the forest the following morning, leading them to alert the forest department. Officials from the Bhandaria forest area confirmed that the cow had indeed fallen prey to the tiger. Following instructions from Garhwa DFO Ibin Beni Abraham, a compensation of five thousand rupees was promptly issued to Singh.
In the last three months, residents have already been on edge due to incessant elephant disturbances, and now the addition of a tiger sighting has intensified the atmosphere of fear. To mitigate the risk of human-tiger conflict, the forest department has been actively informing villagers in Bhandaria via loudspeakers, urging them to exercise caution and avoid venturing into the forests.
This is the second consecutive year a tiger has reportedly entered the Bhandaria area, recalling incidents from March of last year when a similar event led to the deaths of three people in just two days. A disturbing video of a tiger hunting and consuming its prey in the Kutuku forest also surfaced at that time. Despite the current fears, officials note that the recent tiger has not shown tendencies towards becoming a man-eater thus far. It is worth noting that this marks the second instance in four years a tiger has roamed into this region, which is connected to the northern forest terrain of Balrampur in Chhattisgarh via the Kanhar River.
In addition to the danger posed by the tiger, a herd of elephants migrating from Chhattisgarh has also wreaked havoc in the southern forest area of Ramakanda, resulting in six fatalities over a span of three months. A bear attack in Bijka of Bhandaria recently left one villager injured. The fatalities from the elephant incursions include Nageshwar Singh of Baligarh, Subhash Singh of Parro, Mahru Dealer, Ramshakal Singh from Chutia in Jonhikhand, Swati Minj of Bairia, and Sitaram Mochi from Upartola in Ramkanda.
Following reports of a tiger entering the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) from the Garhwa Southern Forest Area, paw marks of a male tiger have been discovered within the PTR range. Prajesh Kant Jena, the North Deputy Director of PTR, confirmed the sighting of these paw prints. He mentioned that a photograph of the male tiger, which arrived from the Kanhar River in Chhattisgarh, has not yet been released. As a result, it remains unclear whether this tiger is the same as the one spotted last year or if it is a different individual. Jena stated that monitoring efforts are underway, including the installation of camera traps.
