The Forest Department is facing a dicey situation of trapping a tigress which has strayed close to human habitation in the Antharsanthe Range of the Nagarahole National Park. The animal is with its cub and is trying to protect it from a dominant male tiger which has encroached upon its territory.
In the meantime, villagers close to the Taraka Channel have complained of cattle being killed following which authorities have placed a cage with a bait to trap the tigress. However, a senior official in the Forest Department told The Hindu that the cage has been kept to placate the local community as it was a sensitive situation. But they do not want to separate the tigress from its cub.
“We only hope that the tigress and its cub go into the interiors of the forest and the mother does not get trapped in the cage,” said the official.
However, it is not clear if there is only one cub or more than one and hence the authorities are maintaining vigil.
The cautious approach stems from the fact that the authorities trapped a tigress which had strayed into human habitation near Metikuppe last year. The animal was tranquilised and shifted to the Mysuru Zoo.
But within days, they came across two tiger cubs languishing in the wild without its mother. One of them died in the forests while the other one was rescued and shifted to the zoo but did not survive either. Subsequent DNA tests proved that the cubs belonged to the tigress which was trapped at Metikuppe .
“We want to avoid such a situation at all costs,” said the official hoping that the tigress would not be trapped in the cage and would be nudged into the forests.
The animal is with its cub, trying to protect it from a male
