A tigress on the prowl on the periphery of the Antharsanthe range of the Nagarahole National Park was darted and trapped by the authorities on Tuesday.
This comes hardly 24 hours after a similar exercise in which a male tiger — found to be injured — was darted and tranquillised in Doddabaragi village in the Hediyala range of Bandipur.
The Nagarahole Park director and Conservator of Forests Manikantan said the tigress had attacked and killed cattle at Naganahalli village on Sunday as per the complaint by the local community.
After that, the tigress disappeared, but was sighted again on Monday. A decision to tranquillise it was taken as the animal had strayed into human habitat and indulged in cattle kill, and this could escalate conflict if left unattended. Additional staff and two elephants were deployed to comb the area and to monitor the forest fringes.
Though the initial exercise did not lead to any success, the tigress appeared again in an agricultural field on Tuesday afternoon.
The two elephants closed in from opposite directions and the tigress slinked into the field, and for a moment became invisible, its stripes merging with the vegetation. But the veterinarian astride one of the elephants took the shot and found its mark as the tigress scampered to the adjoining field for cover. But it soon slumped and dozed off as the medication took affect. The Forest Department staff closed in with nets, trapped and secured the tigress.
As the tigress was darted, there was a melee at the site with the local community crowding to catch a glimpse of the tiger which was shifted from the spot by the authorities to Damanakatte forests, away from the commotion. “The future course of action would depend on the health and the condition of the tigress,” said Mr. Manikantan.
Nagarahole abuts Bandipur and the entire landscape spread over nearly 1,500 sq.km is home to nearly 180 to 220 tigers. But both the national parks are surrounded by about 150 t0 200 villages each with a dense human and cattle population. In the absence of buffer areas, the human-animal conflict is frequent.
Meanwhile, the male tiger captured at Bandipur is under observation at the Mysuru zoo and the authorities are it had been administered medications, including antibiotics to treat its wound. The tiger will be under observation for a few more days before taking any decision on the next course of action.
