H.D. Kote: Pug marks of a tiger have been  spotted at an agricultural field in Annur-Hosahalli village in Veeranahosahalli Forest Range of Nagarahole National Park in Mysuru district sparking fears among the villagers.

Shadakshari, a farmer went to his agricultural field in the morning only to spot the pug marks of a tiger. He later informed Forest Department over phone, following which Deputy Range Forest Officer (DRFO) Sachin, Guard Krishnaiah and Watchers Mahesh, Papaiah and Govinda visited the spot. Upon inspection, the Forest personnel confirmed the pug marks as that of a tiger and tracked the marks to a distance, only to arrive on a conclusion that the big cat has returned to the forest, DRFO Sachin told the villagers.

Anand, a farmer said the fear over wild animals has returned to haunt the villagers, who were rattled by a havoc created by a wild tusker in the village 10 days ago. Fortunately no casualties were reported. The elephant was driven back to the forest by the Forest personnel with the help of villagers.

In another case, pug marks were also spotted at the agricultural fields in Antharasanthe Range of Nagarahole Forest. Farmer Venkataswamy told the Forest personnel on their arrival about pug marks noticed in Antharasanthe, Jiyara, Machare and Nerale villages. Beat Forester Narayan and Watcher Mohammed also confirmed the pug marks as that of a tiger.

H.D. Kote RFO Pooja told Star of Mysore, “We had received information about tiger moving around the villages. Four camera traps have been installed at the plantations in Machare and Nerale Hosur. But, the tiger movement was not noticed on these cameras. So, a team has been formed to track the movement of the tiger.”