Villages of Dasanapura in the taluk heaved a sigh of relief as assistant conservator of forests Thammaiah revealed that the tiger, which had taken refuge in a sugarcane field, had returned to the forest.
Forest department staff had placed a cage in the vicinity in order to trap the wild cat. However, the tiger is said to have returned to the forest on Sunday night. The pug marks were found in a farm near Dasanapura. Residents claim that they heard continuous barking of dogs during the night as the tiger moved in the area.
But, farmers believe that the tiger will return to prey on the cows in the village as it has become accustomed to the habit. The cage has been kept in the farm of Ningegowda in the sugarcane field as the tiger might return.
In-charge range forest officer Madhusudhan, ACF Ramesh, tahsildhar D S Shivakumaraswamy, guards Venkatesh and Ramesh were present.
Published 20 August 2012, 16:26 IST