By IANS,
Lucknow : Pugmarks (paw prints) of tigers were found in an Uttar Pradesh village which is devoid of forests, much to the surprise of officials and locals, forest officer said Tuesday.
“Pugmarks of an adult tiger and cubs were found by our officials Tuesday in Nagra village in Shahjahanpur, some 250 km from Lucknow,” divisional forest officer B.C. Tiwari told IANS by telephone.
He said the tigers are probably hiding in sugarcane fields. “We are yet to ascertain the exact number of tigers hiding in the fields, where an intensive combing operation has just been launched,” he added.
According to forest officials, three elephants have also been deployed for the combing operation.
As Shahjahanpur has no forest area, officials believe the tigers have come from the Dudhwa Tiger reserve, located in the neighbouring Lakhimpur Kheri district.
Dudhwa, India’s second largest tiger reserve after the world famous Corbett National Park, recorded a tiger population of 106 as per the official census undertaken last year.