Even as Forest Department officials have intensified their search and vigil in the Niali area of Cuttack district, the elusive animal reportedly killed one more sheep at Pokharigaon in the locality on Friday night.
The incident infuriated locals, who again resorted to a road blockade demanding compensation to the sheep farmers. They also did not allow the forest officials to take the carcass of the animal for postmortem.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said the issue of the mysterious animal and the sheep’s deaths was being seriously taken up by the Forest Department.
Forest Minister Bijayshree Rautray said the killer animal had been identified as a wolf and the forest personnel would set up more traps to catch it.
However, the villagers continue to be in panic and most of them prefer to remain indoors after dusk despite CCTV cameras being installed and the deployment of more forest personnel to catch the killer animal. They now apprehended threat from the mysterious animal to human beings.
Visuals of two suspected killer animals resembling a fox and a jackal were captured during an intense search operation by the forest officials near Khalit village on Friday.
Forest officials said over 45 sheep have been killed either by a pack of wolves or hyenas in Niali and adjoining areas between April 1 and June 30. But villagers say as many as over 150 sheep have been killed.