A tiger that had strayed near a village in Kultali in the Sunderbans was trapped in a cage early on Sunday.

The big cat is suspected to have sneaked out of Deulbari forest compartment in South 24-Parganas forest division.

Villagers spotted pugmarks near Deulbari village on Saturday morning and informed the forest department. Soon, a team arrived and a search began for the tiger.

“It was traced to a thicket in the village, around 3.5km from Matla river. The area was fenced with nets. Two trap cages were set up,” said an official of South 24-Parganas forest division.

The tiger was traced around 10am on Saturday. It was finally trapped in a cage around 3am on Sunday,” the official said.

The tiger was taken for a medical check-up at a forest camp where veterinarians examined it. The tiger was a male adult that was approximately seven years old. “It was physically fit and the canines were intact,” said the forest official.

A mechanised trawler carried the big cat to the edge of the Chamta forest, part of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve.

As the door of the cage was lifted, the forest guards onboard let out a collective cry. The tiger leapt off the boat into the shallow waters of the creek around 2.30pm. Within seconds, it took rapid strides and disappeared into the forest.

Tigers from the forests strayed near villages in Kultali more than 20 times between September last year and June this year.

Breaches in the nets, caused naturally and by humans, were one of the main reasons for the intrusions, said foresters.

This newspaper had reported that ragged nylon nets bordering the forests in Kultali will soon be replaced.

Nylon nets border around 85km of forests in the entire division.

Bulk of the project — around 45km — will cover forest compartments of Ajmalmari 1 and 11 and Herobhanga 9. They fall under the Raidighi range, one of three tiger ranges in the South 24-Parganas forest division.

On the other side of the forests are villages — part of the Kultali block and under the jurisdiction of Maipith coastal police station — like Nagenabad, Deulbari and Kishorimohanpur.

A creek, locally called Makri, separates the villages and the forests.

Foresters believe the increase in the tiger population in the mangrove delta is also behind the rise in straying incidents.

“Earlier, the straying incidents would happen during winter. Now, it happens almost all year. The ragged nets could be a reason, but the number of tigers has also gone up. That could also be the reason. Tigers are straying while looking out for new territories,” said a veteran forester.