A tiger sneaked into the protected rhino area in Dudhwa National Park (DNP) and killed a 11-month old rhino calf and injured its mother, forest department sources said here.
"The calf was killed while its mother named Sada was injured in the tiger attack," DNP Deputy Director V K Singh told PTI.
The mutilated carcass of the calf was recovered today from Kakraha Tal when patrolling teams, he said, adding that pugmarks of a tiger were also detected there following which patrolling has been intensified with deployment of half a dozen elephants for the purpose.
Four rhinos have been killed so far in tiger attacks while two rhinos, Himrani and Deepa, have sustained injuries.
According to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve authorities, Dudhwa tigers avoided attacking big animals like rhinos and elephants but the recent phenomenon has worried them.
"It seems that rhinos have now become a part of Dudhwa tigers' menu chart, which should be studied," a DTR official said.
