Lucknow:
A tiger that had wandered into an Uttar Pradesh village was tranquilised by forest officers this morning after locals were seen surrounding the majestic animal that showed no signs of aggression.
A dramatic capturing exercise ensued with officials even trying to grab the tiger by its tail as it struggled against the tranquilising effect. Once sedated, the tiger was caged and taken away by the forest department team.
The villagers had kept awake all night to keep a watch on the tiger that was seen resting on the wall of a house. It seemed frightened by a massive crowd that had gathered to get a glimpse of the majestic animal.
The tiger entered the Atkona village in Kalinagar from the tiger reserve in Pilibhit district last night. The villagers were alerted by stray dogs that kept barking at the tiger resting on the wall of a house.
Videos this morning showed a huge crowd gathered on rooftops and behind fencing trying to film the tiger sleeping on the wall. The area around the animal was barricaded using nets so no one could advance any further.
The tiger had been sleeping on the wall since night and didn’t budge from the spot even after it woke up. Light was flashed at it in the dark but that didn’t prompt it to move either, showed visuals from last night.
There has been no reports of the animal attacking any human. But the frightened villagers are angry with the forest department and alleging that it is due to their negligence that the tiger could get into the village.
Pilibhit is home to a tiger reserve and five people have died in four months in tiger attacks in the district. At least four dozen tiger attack incidents have been reported since the creation of the tiger reserve in 2015.