Fear gripped the villagers of Degaon and adjoining villages of Khanapur taluk after a calf of a cow was taken away by a wild cat on Friday night, even as the hunt for the elusive tiger commenced for the third day on Saturday morning.
However, the forest officials could not immediately confirm whether it was the tiger or a leopard that took away the calf from Degaon, situated nearly 6 km away from Talawade. Both Talawade and Degaon are in close proximity of the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary. The tiger, which was captured near Mullayanagiri Hills of Chikkaballapura five days ago, was released into the BWS, about one kilometre away from Talawade on Wednesday morning.
Officials said movements of few leopards and attack on cattle and dogs had been reported from these areas. Though the villagers claimed that the wild cat that took away the calf was a tiger, the carcass of the calf was yet to be traced. The carcass could be nearby the village. The veterinary doctors had rushed to village, who would ascertain whether the calf had fallen prey to a tiger or a leopard once the carcass was traced.
Meanwhile, the team of forest and police personnel, and wildlife experts including Sanjay Gubbi continued their search for the tiger, which is stated to have moved away 5 to 6 km away from where it was released on Wednesday. The search for the tiger commenced in the morning.