[First posted on Tuesday, November 15, 2005]
The visitor that came calling in that early November night had a hungry stomach, having reportedly traveled great distance. But none in the village Hemnagar would oblige. Not surprising, since the visitor was none other than a ravenous tigress, suspected to be carrying would-be-kids in her belly.
Perhaps someone in her fraternity told her of easy availability of prey, or may be she was looking for a ‘safe’ place to breed, but what was obvious was Hemnagar residents’ great reluctance to extend any welcome.
She arrived at Hemnagar, a small locale in South 24 Parganas, at night and moved about quite a bit before being sighted. It didn’t take long for panic to set in, though no harm was caused on her. The unseemly chase ended when the bigpaw decided to land in a kitchen, the door of which was promptly locked from outside. To bolster her trap, the small room was further wrapped around with fishing net.
Then onward it was a smooth affair. Experts from Tiger Reserve Project office in Canning came without delay, armed with tranquilizer guns. Soon after, it was return journey for the tigress to where she belongs, this time with man’s help.
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