More than 5,000 residents in at least six villages of Niali block of Cuttack district continued to remain in panic even as the grapevine is abuzz with rumours about a spate of horrific deaths of sheep in the area. While some posts in social media add fuel to the rumours, the failure of the local administration in unravelling the mystery behind the mass killings of sheep has added to the people’s panic.
District Collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra, quoting Forest Department officials, said on Tuesday that traps and CCTV cameras would be fixed at vantage locations soon to trap the wild
animals suspected to be killing the sheep.
After collecting pugmarks of the predators and after examining the locations,
dead and injured sheep, forest officials believe that either hyenas or wolves are behind the killings.
Reports said that at least 150 sheep have been killed and several others injured in the villages during the past two months. At least two sheep died and three were injured at Alana village on Sunday night. Despite the villagers spending sleepless nights and guarding the vulnerable areas in groups,
there is no trace of the wild animals nor was there any report of sheep attacks on Monday night.
The district authorities said that forest personnel would instal traps and fix at least five CCTV cameras at the villages to trap the
wild attackers of the domestic animals.
Meanwhile, villagers have been asked to keep their sheep in groups in well-covered places with adequate lights in the vicinity as it is believed that wild animals do not prey on domestic animals in well-lit locations.