The operation to trap an elusive tiger in N. Begur range of Bandipur National Park continued for the fourth day without much success. The tiger had strayed from its habitat and attacked a shepherd a few days ago and is reported to have killed a head of cattle at Kalasur village in N. Begur range on Monday.
H.C. Kantharaj, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, told The Hindu that they have installed 10 remote-controlled infrared cameras at vantage points to capture its image and assess its age. If the tiger is maturing and has been weaned from its mother, then it is a cub trying to establish its territory and we will not capture it but ensure that it goes deep into the jungles. But if it is an aged tiger, we will capture it as it may continue to stray into human habitat,” said Mr. Kantharaj.
He said the Forest Department has images of most tigers in the tiger reserve taken through camera-trapping methods during census operations conducted in the past. “If the stripes of this particular tiger matches with the existing database, we can ascertain its age based on available information and decide on capturing it. If the stripes do not match, it could mean the tiger is new and hence young and we will not capture it,” Mr. Kantharaj added.
The tiger was sighted near the forest boundary on Tuesday but escaped. Four elephants, Special Tiger Force personnel and Forest Department staff are camping in the area to monitor the operation. The local community has been urged not to venture into the forest areas during evenings. Tigers strayed from their habitat in Bandipur last year, killing four persons, following which an operation to trap them was launched.
