Foresters capture tiger at agri field

Mysuru: A four-year-old tiger, which had killed over a dozen cattle in villages coming under Bandipur Tiger Reserve, was captured by foresters on Tuesday. The operation was carried out on the direction of forest minister Anand Singh, who recently visited the villages on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border .

The tiger from Moolehole forest range had entered the Kundakere range, which is the territory of another tiger, and was seeking a place to settle near the border area.

It had also preyed on about 15 cattle in the village.

After the tiger killed a goat in Kundakere village on May 5, villagers escalated their demand for capturing the big cat before it attacked/ killed humans. Immediately, the foresters launched a massive combing operation to chase the tiger back to the forest using three elephants — Ganesh, Jayaprakash and Krishna — from Rampura elephant camp.

Bu ton May 10, forest minister Anand Singh visited the villages and directed the foresters to trap the tiger before it attacks humans. Accordingly, the foresters laid cages at vantage points and also escalated the combing operation.

At 11.30am on Tuesday, the foresters found the tiger prowling at an agriculture land in Vaddagere village. The images captured in camera traps and the information given by the villagers helped them locate the tiger.

Gundlupet division ACF K Paramesh told TOI that the tiger was tranquilised at an agriculture land in Heggavadi near Kundakere.

Wildlife veterinarians Dr Ramesh and Nagaraj conducted a medical check-up to know its health, after which they decided to shift the animal to Mysuru Zoo .

BTR director T Balachandra told TOI: “The vets have found cellulitis infection in its leg. There is maggot infestation too. We have to treat the infection and injuries before releasing it in the forest. The zoo authorities have been asked to keep it under observation and treat it accordingly. The chief wildlife warden will take a call on its release back to the wild,” he said.