: Villagers blocked vehicular traffic for hours on the Mananthavady-Kannur State Highway at Nalpathimonnam Mile, near Thalappuzha, on Saturday seeking protection from wild animal attacks.
The protesters carried the carcass of cattle killed reportedly in tiger attacks the previous night. Two buffaloes owned by George of Parayidathil were killed in a suspected tiger attack on Friday night.
Travellers were stranded for nearly four hours following the protest.
The protesters said sighting of a big cat was reported from various parts of the area adjacent to the Periya range of forest under the North Wayanad forest division.
Three days ago, Forest Department officials had set up three surveillance cameras and a cage at Kolongode to trap the tiger after it killed a crop-raiding wild boar on a private tea estate.
An image of a tiger was recorded in one of the cameras two days ago.
Wayanad sub-collector Sreeram Sambasiva Rao and North Wayanad forest divisional officer Narendranath Veluri held discussion with the protesters and promised that two more cages would be set up in the area to trap the tiger.
Patrolling by forest officials would be intensified in the area and a fair compensation would be provided to the farmer for the loss of his cattle.
Meanwhile, Mr. Narendranath told The Hindu that the recorded image revealed that it was a four-year-old tigress and it was trying to set up its own territory in the woods. “I am confident that the animal would move to the nearest forest soon,” he said.
A few weeks ago, a tiger was trapped from the Kurichyad range of forest under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and it was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram zoo.
