Approached through lush green rubber plantations dotted with farm yards, Bathanimala in Perunad grama panchayat in Ranni is an outpost that borders the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR). Barring a few stray incidents, humans and wild animals coexisted peacefully in this village until now. But the past couple of months have been different.
According to villagers, an aged tiger has developed a habit of lifting cattle from the cattle sheds here in the cover of the night. In a span of just 40 days, the animal has feasted on three cows and a goat. With the animal appears to be making a fighting stand, the villages have been under constant fear that it may eventually attack humans.
First time in 6 decades
Nedumannil Jose, a livestock farmer, was in for a rude shock recently when he saw the tiger dragging his goat. “I was rushing to the stable at the backyard on hearing a commotion outside. It has been nearly six decades since I have settled here but this is for the first time that I witnessed a tiger here,” he said.
As horrifying tales of the animal keep pouring in, the peace and tranquillity of this sparsely populated corner of Pathanamthitta has been shattered. All roads across this village, especially those meandering through plantations and forests, get deserted by evening and people are locking up their cattle in safe shelters.
The forest officials, meanwhile, have been on their toes to ward off the attacks and has placed a cage inside a rubber plantation here, besides setting up camera traps at several locations. A 24-member special task force has been deployed to monitor the animal’s movement, which has been camping in the area, and a chat group has been formed by including all the villagers to update on the animal’s presence.
Easy prey
“The tiger looks aged and suffers from some dental problems. As it is unable to hunt wild animals, it is now looking for for easy prey in the village,” said Jayakumar Sharma, Divisional Forest Officer, Ranni.
The intense undergrowth in the abandoned rubber plantations here, according to the official, has offered the tiger an ideal habitat outside the wild. “The animal appears to have sensed the presence of some trap and hence remains evasive. Accordingly, efforts are being made to naturalise the cage by camouflaging it using shrubs and foliage,” the official added.
