After five days of intensive search operations, the tiger which is suspected to have killed two persons in Chowdahalli-Hundipura area, bordering Bandipur National Park, was tranquillised and trapped on Sunday, much to the relief of the local community.
The combing team zeroed in on a 2-sq.km radius where the tiger was suspected to be ensconced close to Magunahally Haadi in the Gopalswamy Betta range of Bandipur. It was tranquillised late in the afternoon.
The big cat is about four years old. The Forest Department’s hunch that the animal’s location was based on tell-tale evidence of its pug marks, blood trails, and a few camera trap images recorded in the same place on Saturday. Besides, the tiger was not venturing too deep into the jungle and preferred to operate along the forest boundary. Hence, it was suspected that either the tiger had been ejected out of its territory by a dominant male or it was trying to establish a new territory close to the human landscape where cattle was available in plenty.
The local villagers had complained that as many as 16 head of cattle had been lost in tiger attacks in the past few weeks, besides two humans. Initially, the people were vehement in their demand that the tiger be shot dead, and the Forest Department issued an advisory stating that it would be captured or put down.
Going all out
But later, it was announced that the tiger would be captured alive and rehabilitated. The department deployed all available resources to scour the jungle and trap the feline. There was a large crowd creating commotion around the cage on Sunday, but it was only to get a glimpse of the tiger. There was no untoward incident.
As news of the tiger’s capture spread, villagers distributed sweets to Forest Department staff and appreciated their work. Punati Sridhar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and head of the Forest Force, said the tiger would be shifted to a rehabilitation centre at Koorgalli in Mysuru.
Conservator of Forests T. Balachandra, who is also the Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, said this was the same tiger that migrated from the Antharasanthe range of Nagarahole national park, where it was photo-captured in March last year.
