Calcutta/Lalgarh: The tiger that has been keeping Lalgarh on tenterhooks for a month mauled two members of a tribal hunting party on Friday before forest personnel lost a chance to capture the animal in a ditch where it was briefly trapped.

A team of 16 forest personnel and four tranquillising experts requisitioned from the Sunderbans had split into two units and laid net traps at either end of the culvert after being led there by some tribal hunters.

The seniormost official of the wildlife division said "a moment of panic" allowed the big cat to escape through a gap in the net trap on one side. "The local forest personnel are not used to catching tigers. A roaring tiger can unnerve even experienced men," said Ravi Kant Sinha, the state's chief wildlife warden.

The forest department has been on the trail of the tiger, so far only captured by camera traps, since livestock started disappearing from villages adjoining Lalgarh, part of a 30sq km swathe of forest straddling Jhargram, West Midnapore and Bankura districts.

Three pairs of camera traps had been set up in Lalgarh just to confirm the presence of the tiger and the first pictures were clicked on March 2.

Around 10am on Friday, the tiger attacked a tribal hunting party that had entered the forest despite an official ban. "A pack of dogs had been barking near the ditch where the tiger was crouched. We thought it was a boar and so went near the ditch. Before I could react, the tiger lunged at me," recounted Nandalal Soren, 40, from his hospital bed.

Nandalal and Panda Murmu, 35, have gashes on their chests to show for their encounter with one of the wildlife kingdom's most feared paws.

A second hunting party apparently sighted the elusive tiger again at Gadrashol forest in West Midnapore, 12km from Lalgarh. This was around 12.30pm, according to a forest official.

Based on the information provided by the tribal hunters, a rapid response team equipped with tranquilliser guns and forest guards reached the spot around 1pm. They did not find the tiger immediately but pug marks and scat kept the search going throughout the afternoon. The crowd of villagers tailing the forest team had swelled by then, increasing the commotion.

The tiger was finally found hiding in the ditch around 3.30pm. It appeared trapped, making the forest personnel believe that they could capture it this time.

Before someone with a tranquilliser gun could get a clear shot, the tiger escaped.

Chief wildlife warden Sinha refused to blame anyone for the failed attempt to capture a trapped tiger. But another official said the presence of a 100-strong crowd of villagers made the forest team's task more difficult.