Bhubaneswar, June 2: The tiger that escaped from Nandankanan zoo on Friday night scaling over a 18-ft high fence is believed to be roaming in the forest area around it.

Forest officials have sent an alert to the villagers living on the periphery of the forest area around the zoo, which is a part of the 4.37sqkm Nandankanan sanctuary.

The zoo authorities today spotted pugmarks of the six-year-old male Royal Bengal tiger from three different places inside the sanctuary area. However, they are yet to trace the animal.

“The tiger is within the sanctuary area. We are in touch with the National Tiger Conservation Authority to seek their guidance on the issue,” said forest and environment minister Bijayshree Routray, who visited Nadankanan today. The minister, who took a look at the enclosure where the tiger was being kept since April 29, described the incident as a rare incident.

In the wake of the incident, the state government has decided to request the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to raise the height of the chain-link fences in the tiger enclosures of the zoo.

“The fact that the tiger managed to jump the fence shows that it has become necessary to increase their height. We will send a recommendation to CZA in this regard,” said principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden J.D Sharma.

According to the guidelines of CZA, a tiger enclosure should have chain-link fence of 16ft with an overhang of around 4ft.

The white tiger safari in the zoo remains closed after the escape of the tiger, which was housed in an enclosure adjacent to it.

The safari was shut down on April 29 after the tiger accidentally strayed into the zoo.

Wildlife activists have demanded complete safety of the tiger.

“We have been demanding the release of the tiger into the wild, but the delay in taking a decision resulted in its escape. The authorities must ensure that the animal does not become a victim of human interference,” said Sanjib Kumar Das, member secretary of People for Animal.

Yesterday the state government had ordered a probe into the escape of the tiger. The six-year-old animal had first been spotted roaming around the white tiger safari area in March. The zoo authorities had then trapped it in the 30-acre white tiger safari.