Patna, Sep 30 (IANS): The Bihar Forest Department hired noted wildlife hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan to tranquilise a man-eater tiger - which had killed three people and injured many others - near the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran, but the big cat proved too smart.

A trap was laid on Thursday but the tiger took away a goat teethered as bait right in front of the hunter and a team of Forest and Wildlife Department officials.

Forest Department Director Surendra Singh, VTR Director Dr Neshmani K., DFO Pradyuman Gautam, DFO, Wildlife, West Champaran, Dr Neeraj Narayan, along with 15 other officials, have been camping in the VTR for four days now to oversee attempts to capture the man-eater tiger.

The team and Nawab Shafath Ali led the trap in Hariharpur village adjoining the VTR, but the tiger killed the goat and fled even as the hunter fired but missed.

According to an official, the team had put a buffalo and a goat inside an iron cage on Tuesday night but the tiger did not come. A goat was put in a cage on Wednesday night as well, and the the tiger came early on Thursday and eluded the team.

Dr Neshmani said: "The man-eater tiger is very smart and agile. It changes locations every two to three hours. We have laid the trap in Hariharpur village. When the goat was inside the cage, it did not come. As soon as we tied it outside the cage, it came and attacked it and killed it."

"The tiger was located in the Chihutaha forest area or VTR on Wednesday morning and reached the Raghiya forest area located on the Nepal border on Thursday morning by crossing the Masan river," he added.

Due to the man-eater tiger, villagers of Bairiya Kanan village, Barwa Kalan, Dewaria Taruanwa under the Harnahat forest area and Jimri, KathaHasanpur, Kadamhawa, Hariharpur under Chihutaha forest area are under immense fear in day as well as in the night. The tiger is attacking villagers even during the day when they are farming.