Residents of several villages in northern India are on edge after repeated tiger sightings near their homes and farms.
What's happening?
According to local reporting by The Times of India, villagers in parts of Sitapur district have been spotting what they believe to be a tiger moving through sugarcane fields for nearly a month.
Fresh pugmarks have been found in agricultural land near Bhudpurwa village, concerning farmers who normally spend long hours harvesting dense cane crops.
"Ever since we heard about the tiger, no one has the courage to step into the fields," one resident told reporters, capturing the anxiety shared by many families in the area.
While forest department teams have been searching surrounding villages and fields — including areas near Hargaon, Mumtazpur, Andauli, and Musabbarpur — so far, officials say there has been no confirmed visual sighting of a tiger.
Why are these sightings concerning?
Overall, while tiger sightings near villages are rare, they are becoming more common in parts of the world where wild habitats are shrinking. Animals continue to be pushed into human spaces as forests are fragmented by roads, farms, and development.
This isn't unique to India. In Siberia, the world's largest big cat, the Amur tiger, has been moving closer to villages in search of food, leading to deadly encounters for both people and animals.
Human-wildlife conflict doesn't just endanger people. It can also devastate already fragile animal populations, making long-term conservation even harder. In Malaysia, a critically endangered tiger named Bulan was killed in a traffic collision while crossing a highway.
What's being done about the sightings?
Local forest officials are continuing surveillance efforts and urging residents to stay alert.
More broadly, conservation groups around the world are investing in tools that reduce these dangerous encounters before they happen. Things like remote camera traps and motion-sensing photography allow researchers to monitor tiger movements without disturbing them, helping officials understand where animals are traveling and why.
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Protecting and restoring forest corridors has also proved effective in keeping wildlife away from farms and roads.
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