Tiger terror gives sleepless nights to people in Prathipadu; cage operation planned

Fear has gripped villagers in Prathipadu Mandal in the Kakinada district after Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted in the area four days ago. This is for the first time that the tiger movement was witnessed in their agricultural fields. District Forest Officials are making all efforts to capture the tiger. On 29 May, an adult male tiger strayed into human habitation and killed six buffaloes in Gollaprolu. On receiving information, Andhra Pradesh Forest Department teams with around 150 personnel set up a base camp and installed CCTV cameras at 40 places to capture a tiger. Speaking to News Meter, District Forest Officer IKV Raju said: "As on 1 June, we found pug marks of the tiger near Pothuluru Metta. We are closely monitoring the movement of the tiger. As there is a forest nearby, the tiger is likely to return". The teams will set up a base camp at Pothuluru metta for another week to trace its movements. As an alternative, forest officials have also planned a 'cage operation'.