Bantala: A photograph of the Royal Bengal Tigress Sundari moving around the Gudbhanga canal near the Purunakatak-Tikarpada Road here in Angul district has started doing the rounds on social media, a report said Tuesday.
The photograph of the dreaded tigress appearing on social media has created panic among the public.
The tigress was brought from the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve Project in Madhya Pradesh to the Satkosia Sanctuary to help increase the tiger population.
The matter came out after a tourist clicked the photograph of Sundari moving near the Gudbhanga canal near Purunakote Police Station and the Pampasar Forest Range Office on the Purunakatak-Tikarpada Road and uploaded it on social media.
The photograph is now being shared by several users on Facebook and WhatsApp. The tigress is now feared by people as a woman of Hatibari village was allegedly killed by it.
The tigress is now moving alone inside the sanctuary as its male counterpart Mahavir brought from the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh has established a relationship with another tigress of Satkosia and are together.
The death of the woman in the attack by Sundari has created fear among villagers as they think that the animal might attack them and their livestock.
The place where the tigress was seen is attracting tourists. Recently, the tigress is said to have killed a calf after straying into Hatibari village.
Forest officials said the tigress is now holed up in the middle of the forest near the Katranga Ghat of Ramgaon canal and Satkosia Gorge.
Two teams led by Tikarpada Forest Ranger Jayant Patnaik and the Wildlife Institute of India are constantly monitoring the ‘killer’ tigress. Patnaik has asked villagers not to go inside the forest or free their livestock for grazing.
PNN
