It’s possibly the time for the Jharkhand tigers to return home, as their current movement reflects.

“We’ve recorded fresh pugmarks of the big cat here in Ghatshila and this suggests the tiger has deserted the Bengal forests and is back further Jamshedpur Forest Division,” Saba Alam Ansari, DFO Jamshedpur told The Statesman today. He added: “It’s hiding in the wild and no sighting could be made since yesterday though, but we’ve gathered adequate evidence of its return.”

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Ghatshila small hills, covered under lush green forests, about eight km from Bengal border is the place where the tiger, as the experts suggest, has got ample resources for lodging. The area has Asia’s deepest copper mine.

The other tiger that has been roaming close to the localities under the Garhwa Forest Division for nearly three weeks, according to the officials, has checked in to the Palamau Tiger Reserve forests. Ebin Benny Abraham, DFO, Garhwa (South) told The Statesman today: “We assume the tiger has returned to its habitat, as no new evidence of either pugmarks or of its kill were noted.” He added: “We’ve however maintained surveillance protocol still in the vulnerable areas.”

The Palamau tiger that’d perturbed the Jamshedpur Forest Division for nearly 10 days had traversed through Gobarbhusi forest patch of East Dalma in Jamdih of Jharkhand and Gangamanna area in Bengal’s Jhargram on 12 January and moved southwards to the Raika hillock in Bandwan in Purulia. Officials assume it has crossed Mayurjharna elephant project to reach Banspahari forests where the foresters had found scratch marks and excreta of the animal. Its pugmarks were visible in the farmlands of Kesra, Laopal villages besides Beldungri water stream close to the Raika hillock in Bandwan on 14 January.

Since both were from the Palamau’s wild, both the big cats didn’t have radio collars, causing difficulty to the foresters in tracking them.

“It is following the same route as Zeenat but from the reverse direction,” said the forest officials. Bengal’s chief conservator of forests (central), Dr S Kulandaivel said here, today, “The tiger finally has departed Bengal jurisdiction and we have informed this to the Jamshedpur Forest Division.”