Highlights
- The 10-year-old tiger, officially named W-43, that gave the authorities and locals a run-around for weeks was finally caught in a trap laid by the Forest Department on Friday morning.
- Ever since it made its first kill, a cow on September 24, the tiger that remained in the village had been highly elusive.
- Initial examination of the big cat found no serious injuries on its body, but the tiger had lost its left canine tooth, which officials believe is the reason for it to prey on cattle.
The residents of Cheeral, a village in Wayanad District of Kerala breathed a sigh of relief on Friday morning as a tiger that has been terrorising them for nearly a month has been captured.
The 10-year-old tiger, officially named W-43, that gave the authorities and locals a run-around for weeks was finally caught in a trap laid by the Forest Department on Friday morning.
13 cattle killed by tiger in 26 days
Ever since it made its first kill, a cow on September 24, the tiger that remained in the village had been highly elusive.
The Forest Department and locals had failed to track its movement, and the tiger went on attacking and killing cattle.
The big cat’s last victim was also a cow, which was killed just hours before the tiger was captured.
In the 26 days, the tiger prowled the village it made at least 13 kills, and injured many more cattle.
On Monday night it had attacked and killed three cows.
Locals have been protesting against tiger attacks
Fed up with the tiger killing their cattle, which were also the sole income source of some families, the villages had been protesting demanding an immediate end to the menace.
The Forest Department had installed several CCTV cameras and drones to track the tiger, without much success.
Earlier this week two kumki elephants, Vikram and Bharat, from the Muthanga sanctuary were also brought to help in the track down of the elusive big cat.
Caught after three weeks of hunt
After several unsuccessful attempts, the Forest Department set a trap near the last location where the tiger made a kill on Tuesday.
The nearly three-week-long manhunt ended on Friday morning after the tiger walked into the trap.
Tiger had lost left canine tooth
According to Forest Officials, W-43 will be shifted to the Hospice and Palliative Care Unit for big cats at Pachadi in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary for examination.
Initial examination of the big cat found no serious injuries on its body, but the tiger had lost its left canine tooth, which officials believe is the reason for it to prey on cattle.
Why tigers attack humans and domestics animals
Big cats including tigers, leopards and even lions normally don’t attack humans or domestic animals.
However, age and serious injuries that cripple their hunting abilities in the wild often force them to stray into human settlements in search of easy food.
Second tiger caught this month
This is the second tiger captured by the Kerala Forest Department in October for preying on domestic animals.
Earlier this month, a tiger that killed 10 cows in two days in a village near Munnar was captured by the Forest Department.
Forest officials said that the adult tiger which has no serious physical injuries has a cataract in one of its eyes, leaving it unable to hunt.
