BHUBANESWAR/ROURKELA: As tiger population continues to be a raging controversy in Odisha, pug marks of a Royal Bengal Tigress and two cubs along the borders of Sundargarh and Jharkhand have cheered up wildlife experts and lovers. On Wednesday evening, a tigress reportedly attacked and killed two buffaloes in South Chirubera Forest of Bisra block under Rourkela Forest Division of Sundargarh. DFO Atish Behera confirmed that only the heads of the bovines were found and pug marks of an adult tiger and two cubs, which are not less a year-and-a-half-old, detected. Between January 16 and 23, a tigress was spotted near SAIL mines at Tensa of the Bonai Forest Division of Sundargarh. Bonai DFO AK Mishra confirmed it to be a tigress and measured the pug marks at 12.5 cm in width and 13.5 cm in length. While the recurrence of the pug marks and the killings of cattle have aroused excitement, Wildlife officials are guarded in their reaction to appearance of the big cats in the region. “We need to ascertain whether the big cat is marking its territory or has strayed into the forests from a contiguous habitat. We will keep a watch,” Chief Wildlife Warden Janardan Dibakar Sharma said. Although speculations are rife about increasing population of Royal Bengal Tigers (RBTs) in Saranda forest, there have been no visual or DNA evidences yet. The Wildlife Wing now plans to maintain samples of the pug marks, their GPS records and timing to understand if the big cat is indeed marking its territory, Sharma said. He said Bonai Forest Division is an ideal habitat given its forest density, prey base and herbivore population but there has to be a definite evidence of tiger. Although tiger population occurred in Saranda, the increased proliferation of Left Wing ultras in the bordering regions of Odisha and Jharkhand has been a major problem for monitoring. Due to Naxal fear, Forest field staff have rarely ventured into the remote pockets in the last several years. Besides, mining is another cause behind increasing fragmentation of habitats and disturbances for the big cats. The growing clout of the ultras in the region may just have given the tigers a safe haven. Meanwhile, AK Choudhary, Forest Range Officer of Sasangada in Jharkhand, said in August last year a big cat was spotted in Saranda. RBTs, he said, occurred in Saranda which is known as ‘Heaven of Sal’ and ‘Land of 700 hills’ spread over 850 sq km.
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