Pilibhit, Oct 18 (IANS): A tigress that is believed to have unleashed terror in the area, was tranquillised and captured by forest officials in the Pilibhit reserve.

Locals had gheraoed the divisional forest officer of forest and wildlife division, Sanjiv Kumar, over increased tiger sightings in the area.

Police had to step in to safeguard the foresters and to prevent the mob from turning violent.

The residents of Jamunia Khaspur village had found the big cat hiding in a sugarcane field early in the morning following which a team of forest officials, including Kumar, reached the spot.

The forest team installed nets in the sugarcane field and the big cat was captured after being tranquilised by veterinary officer of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Daksh Gangwar. Piyush Mohan Srivastava, range officer of the forest division, said the tigress was around three years old.

"She is quite healthy with no physical injury or deformity," he said.

Srivastava said the tigress seemed to be the same one spotted a fortnight ago in Banskhera village.

He said attempts were made to tranquillise her on October 1 and 3 but because of noise made by locals, attempts to sedate her failed, and she kept moving in the area.

He said she may be released on Wednesday and the state's chief wildlife warden will decide whether she will be released in PTR or elsewhere depending on the density of tigers.

The divisional forest officer of PTR, Naveen Khandelwal, said the tigress could have been wandering around for two reasons.

One was that at the age of three years, cubs separate from mothers and they need to find their independent territory but because the region is saturated with big cats, she ventured away from the forest.

The second reason can be that a pair of adult tiger and tigress in the Mala Forest range may have pushed her away from the jungle.