Man-animal conflict: Unidentified wild animal attacks 3 near Bathinda’s Bhisiana village
While villagers fear that a leopard may be roaming in the area, officials maintain that it is likely a wild cat that has strayed into populated areas. Deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray urged villagers to remain cautious and added that efforts are on to track the animal.
Fear gripped villages near the air force station at Bathinda’s Bhisiana after an unidentified wild animal attacked three people and injured a dog over the last week.
While villagers fear that a leopard may be roaming in the area, officials maintain that it is likely a wild cat that has strayed into populated areas. Deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray urged villagers to remain cautious and added that efforts are on to track the animal.
Among the victims is 58-year-old Jagdeep Singh, who runs an automobile repair workshop in Bhisiana, located about 25 km from the city. Jagdeep said that he had stepped outside his house early in the morning on February 8 when he was attacked. “I couldn’t spot the animal as it was dark. I couldn’t gauge the size of the animal, but it seemed to be strong,” he said.
Jagdeep was administered 50 stitches --on his head, face, and hands – following the attack.
The other two victims were a worker at a petrol pump on the Bathinda-Muktsar road and a person from Bhisiana.
Baldev Singh, a resident of Mehma Bhagwana, said, “This is for the first time that we are hearing of a wild animal attack here. Villagers are scared of moving around in the dark. Wildlife authorities should scan the area, particularly the mustard fields, and catch the animal.”
Bathinda divisional forest officer Swaran Singh was unavailable for comments.
DC Parray said teams of wildlife department have laid traps in the area. “Air force authorities have captured wildlife movement on their CCTV cameras. Experts have confirmed that it was not a big cat but a wild cat,” he said.
On reports that groups of youngsters, armed with sticks and rods, are moving in search of the animal, wildlife authorities said it is a serious issue as untrained people can harm the animal.
Forest range officer Tejindner Singh said a few villagers seem to be spreading rumours on social media platforms and that the district police have been alerted. He said some people claim that the animal looked like a large dog, though it is likely a wild cat.
“The southwest region of Punjab has no population of leopards or any other big cat. We shared photos of pug marks spotted in the fields and experts at the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, a premium central natural resource service institution, say it belong to wild cats. A team with a tranquilising gun is on job to rescue the animal. We urge villagers to act patiently,” said the field wildlife official.