Doha, Qatar: A loose tigress camping on a wall attracted a very large crowd in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s biggest states.
Having made its way out from the nearby tiger Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, the tigress supposedly entered the nearby Aktona village late at night, resting on a wall there.
Come morning, the tiger could still be seen on video appearing to have been still sat on the wall.
Despite raising panic initially, a large crowd from the village gathered to see the tiger and capture photos using their phones.
The tiger appeared at ease despite the large crowd and the noise, even appearing to stretch and lie down in the video.
A tigress that had escaped a nearby tiger reserve and camped on top the wall of a house in Uttar Pradesh, India, has been rescued.
— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) December 27, 2023
Read more: https://t.co/1hmDVcaNqH#India pic.twitter.com/QHtBNyCoTe
Inspector General of Forests Ramesh Pandey shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account that the “chances of injury and deaths of humans in case the tiger tries to escape out also increases in such scenarios” and that Pilibhit –the district in which the tiger had escaped— has "witnessed such situations many a times."
Pandey later shared footage on his social media showing forest officers trying to place the wild animal in a cage in order to safely return it to the reserve, remarking that the tigress “looked sick” and was said to be “anomalous,” with further exams required.
Upon successful rescue and return to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, the tigress was declared to be in “healthy condition” following an examination by the reserve’s vet.
