A Royal Bengal tiger has been spotted in the forests of Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh, putting forest officials in both Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on alert. Authorities believe it could possibly be the same tiger that disappeared from Rajaji National Park nearly a year ago.
The tiger was caught on a camera trap installed in the Khara forest block of the Paonta Sahib range on Monday. Forest officials confirmed the sighting on Thursday.
The footage clearly shows the presence of a tiger in the area. Officials also found pugmarks and claw marks on nearby trees, suggesting the animal has been moving around the area for the past two to three days.
Forest officials said they cannot rule out the possibility that the tiger is the one that has not been recorded in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand for almost a year. The Khara forest area is around 80 km from Rajaji National Park. Officials said such long-distance movement by a tiger is possible.
Forest teams from both states are now closely tracking the animal. More camera traps have been installed to monitor its movement.
Officials are yet to determine whether the tiger is male or female. Information about the sighting has been shared with Rajaji National Park authorities. A team from the park is expected to visit the area soon.
Gaddi shepherds and other people moving through the forest have been advised to stay alert. Local residents say they have seen a tiger in the region several times before. A resident, Jagat, said a tiger had been spotted earlier too, but there was no photographic evidence at that time.
Last week, forest officials also recorded a snow leopard in Kullu district's Greater Himalayan National Park. The rare animal was captured on a camera trap at an altitude of 3,000 to 3,500 metres. It was the first such sighting in the area in nearly six years.
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