Escaping flooding in Assam, tiger 'books into' a house

The Assam flood has put the life of wild animals of Kaziranga National Park in danger -- and now, more lives are being threatened by another unusual menace: loose wild animals that have moved out of the national park after the heavy flooding.

Animals are continuing to move towards a safer place as about 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park and 95 camps are underwater.

On Thursday, a Royal Bengal tiger took shelter inside a local resident's house in Bagori, after moving out from Kaziranga National Park.

Park officials said the striped cat, possibly a female, was spotted at 8.30 am near the national highway along the southern edge of the national park.

“Probably disturbed, the tiger turned and jumped across the tinned wall of a scrap godown and decided to take rest in an adjoining room,” an official was quoted as saying.

In images released by tweeted by the Wildlife Trust India, the tiger is lying down on what appears to be a bed, peering from a hole ripped into the wall.

Forest officials said attempts were on to tranquilise the tiger and take it to safety.

Assam has been badly hit by floods that have displaced thousands of people and cut off large parts of the state.

The national park is bound to the north by the river Brahmaputra and highland areas in its south. Two years ago, over 360 animals including 31 rhinos and a tiger drowned in floods.