Acapulco, Mexico: Mexican authorities stepped up the hunt Friday for a Bengal tiger that escaped from an ecological park last month and warned people not to approach the roving beast.

The tiger, named Ankor, has been on the loose in the southern state of Guerrero since 26 October and is believed to be hiding in mangroves close to where it went missing.

There are indications that the animal, which weighs about 300 kilos (650 pounds), may have wandered close to a ranch in Coyuca de Benitez, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the park, said the Federal Attorney of Environmental Protection (Profepa).

‘If the situation gets out of control and puts human life at risk it will be necessary to give orders to kill it, but we are doing everything possible to recapture the animal,’ said Zenon Alvarado Serano, a Profepa inspector.

Local media said that the animal had killed five cows so far.