An unruly crowd had pelted stones at the animal that caused it to attack and injure five persons, one seriously
The villagers of Samdari in Barmer district are a worried lot. For the last five days a panther has created panic in the area and has injured five persons. A forest department team from Jodhpur tried to tranquilize the panther but it managed to get away. An unruly crowd had pelted stones at the animal that caused it to attack and injure five persons, one seriously. The animal then managed to get away in the dark. The incident is yet another one in the ongoing man-animal territorial conflict.
The forest team returned to Jodhpur on Saturday night as they are of the opinion that the panther has moved into the ravines that are its natural habitat. But the villagers are a worried lot as they fear that the panther could move into habitation and attack again. The area where the panther has been sighted is close to Kumbhalgarh Sanctury of Pali.
The panther was first seen near Samdari village on Wednesday night, then near Bamseen Tedha on Thursday. On Friday afternoon locals informed officials about panther's presence near Devaliyali village. A large crowd had gathered there. Officers from the local administration were present during the operation, but there was no effort by the local administration to control the crowd.
"We fired a tranquilizer dart at the panther, but it ran and hid in an arandi (castor) grove. We were in the process of firing the second dart when the crowd there started pelting stones. We tried to stop them but they did not listen. The semi-tranquilized panther leapt out and attacked the crowd," Dr Shravan Singh Rathore, senior wildlife veterinary officer, Machiya Biological Park, Jodhpur, told DNA.
"We tracked the animal the entire night on Saturday. A cage with a bait was also set up, but the panther did not get lured," Umrav Singh, forester Sivana told DNA.
Panther pugmarks have been sighted near Deora village on Sunday too.
Meanwhile, both hands of Sivana resident Dalaram were badly injured in the panther attack. Four others, including Surendra Singh Sodha, have sustained minor injuries.
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