Ranchi, June 20: An adult tiger has reportedly been spotted in Kendua jungle of Patratu, Ramgarh district, prompting forest officials to go for an inspection to the spot.

Villagers claimed to have seen the big cat on Thursday when they went inside the forests - some 50km from the district headquarters - in search of an ox, which had gone missing on Wednesday evening.

The tiger killed the ox, which belonged to a farmer, Niraj Yadav.

Later, alerted by the villagers, a team of foresters, led by Burmu range officer Vishwanath Prasad, visited the area yesterday to ascertain the claims.

"One faint pugmark was found on the spot, where the ox was killed. It looks like that of a tiger. The villagers claimed to have spotted the tiger roaming inside the jungle when they went for searching Yadav's missing ox," Prasad said.

According to him, the tiger had apparently dragged the ox upto 50 metres after killing it. "The injury marks on the ox's neck and the way it was killed suggest it was a tiger," he added. The Burmu ranger said the area, where the big cat was spotted, was connected to Latehar forests, which fall under the Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR).

"It must have come from Latehar side. There are deep jungles in Patratu, which also happens to be a part of the tiger corridor and is connected with Latehar forests. It is possible that it lost its way and strayed into the nearby village," he said.

Another forest official, who does not want to be quoted, said the big cat might have come in search of food as PTR had been facing rapid deforestation.

According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority survey report released earlier this year, there are at least three tigers in PTR even though the forest department puts the figure at seven.

Last November, a tiger had sneaked into Malti village in Ranchi district, some 25km from the capital city, and mauled three persons.