Fresh pugmarks spotted by the villagers have put the forest department staff on alert as they fear that the Palamu Range tiger in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand has returned once again to the forests in Purulia for the third time. This time, villagers spotted a tiger pugmark in the loose soil in Manbazar Number II block in Purulia district. This morning, the villagers informed the forest officials in Purulia, and after inspection, prima facie, the forest officials also fear that the tiger has returned.
A tigress from Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha, Zeenat, had run away from the neighbouring state and had entered the forests in Purulia, where she started hunting local cattle last year. She stayed here for a few days and was then pushed back to the forest in Bankura, from where the forest officials managed to tranquilise her and, after capturing her in a cage, successfully sent her back to Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha. However, after she was returned to the tiger reserve in Odisha, an adult tiger from Palamu Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand entered through the same route, apparently in search of her, and reached Purulia’s Bandwan.
The forest officials pushed back the adult tiger, and it returned to Jharkhand, but within a few days, it came back again searching for the female big cat, Zeenat. Again, the forest department officials tried to push him back, and this time, without much hassle, he returned to Jharkhand. The problem in locating this tiger is that it is not wearing any radio collar, unlike the tigress Zeenat, and is very hard to spot. It can be traced only through trap cameras and pugmarks. In the past few days, unknown wild animals have killed several cattle in Manbazar II block, and the villagers have spotted the pugmarks today in the soil, which has become loose due to rainfall.
Forest officials of Purulia said that the stray Jharkhand tiger is roaming between the Raika Hills and Bhanrari Hills during the night, but for the safety of the big cat, they are not divulging its exact location. Local people like Biplab Hembram and Jalim Mandi claimed that about a year ago, both had seen the same tiger, and the pugmarks are similar, and both of them are sure that the same tiger has returned to their territory. Unlike the tigress Zeenat, the behaviour of this male tiger is calm and normal, and it has not acted fiercely despite seeing villagers at close range. In fact, the villagers of Purulia want this tiger, like the stray Dalma elephant herds, to be allowed to stay inside the forests. This stray tiger has been roaming between Jharkhand, Jhargram, Bankura, and Purulia for the past three months.