The sighting of three tigers reportedly in a residential area at Chappamala, a hilly region in the Kottiyoor forest range, has kept people and the Forest department on their toes.
A resident, Kanchana, reportedly claimed to have seen two big and a small tiger. According to her, one of the tigers crossed the Chappamala 37th mile road and reached the farm of a private person.
However, the Forest department is yet to acknowledge that what the locals had seen were tigers. However, they have found pugmarks in the region, and they believe it could be either a leopard or tiger, which might be around 10 years old.
Kottiyoor Range Officer Sudheer Neroth said that since the pugmarks found were overlapping each other in the mud, it was difficult to ascertain whether it was a tiger or leopard.
“Though drones were used, owing to thick canopy, the animals could not be detected. However, two camera traps have been installed in the area,” he said.
Mr. Neroth said locals had reported the presence of a tiger on Monday evening. But no one has sighted the animal since then. However, the Forest department has taken preventive steps. A team is patrolling the region twice a day, he added.
Earlier, a tiger, which was spotted in the Payavoor region had crossed into the Karnataka forest after several days of camping at Aralam farm, triggering panic.
