A tiger is suspected to have sneaked out of a forest in the Sunderbans and reached the threshold of a human habitat.

Pugmarks of what looked like a big cat were spotted on a muddy road that leads to Kishorimohanpur village in the Kultali sub-division on Monday morning. The villagers informed the forest department, which confirmed that they were a tiger’s footprint.

The sighting prompted the forest department to launch a search that continued into the night. Till late on Monday, the tiger could not be spotted.

The tiger is suspected to have been hiding in a patch of mangrove cover near the village, forest officials said. The area is around 100km from the heart of Calcutta.

“The pugmarks suggest an adult tiger. It is suspected to have come out of the eleventh compartment of the Ajmalmari forest before crossing a creek. There is a mangrove cover on the other side of the creek. It is near the village. We believe the tiger is hiding there,” said Nisha Goswami, the divisional forest officer of South 24-Parganas forest division.

The forest department has fenced the small forest patch with nylon nets. Later in the night, small fires were lit on the edge of the patch of forest.

“Our priority is to ensure that the tiger stays away from the village,” said Goswami.

The village falls under Maipith Coastal police station. The police joined the forest personnel in barricading the mangrove cover.

The joint team used hailers to address the villagers.

“We are trying to drive the tiger back into the forest. Please don’t panic,” they
announced.