Mahakalapara: A day after a flock of sheep were killed by an unknown animal at Rayankapatna village in Alipingal of Jagatsinghpur district, two herbivores (a sheep and a goat) were killed in a similar fashion in separate incidents at Prabhakarpur (Toshia Belari) village under this block in Kendrapara district Saturday.
This has come at a time when a spate of sheep killings in Niali of Cuttack district continues to baffle forest officials and farmers alike while similar incidents were reported from Jagatsinghpur and Kalahandi districts.
According to sources, a sheep of a villager Rabindra Majhi was killed late Friday night. The incident occurred when Majhi was asleep on the verandah of his house while his three sheep were tied to a tree about 10-ft away from his house.
All of a sudden, Majhi woke up to the loud bleat of his sheep and noticed a tall and blackish animal grabbing the neck of one of his sheep with its teeth.
The animal was squealing like a pig and within no time it killed the sheep and vanished, Majhi said.
Unnerved by what he just witnessed, Majhi failed to muster courage to move and drive away the animal.
A goat of was killed in similar fashion in the same village. The two incidents have triggered panic among the villagers.
On being directed by forest ranger Bijay Kumar Parida, a team of forest officials and veterinarians visited the spot and took stock of the situation.
Veterinarian Dr Raghunath Singh, who conducted the post-mortem, said an animal shank its teeth on the sheep’s neck.
Parida said forest officials will carry out night patrolling in the panchayat where there over 900 sheep and goats.
Meanwhile, the forest department has appealed to sheep farmers to keep their livestock at safer places. PNN
