After a brief lull, tiger scare has returned to haunt the forest-side villages of Pathanamthitta with the animal once again straying into a human habitat at Vadasserikara and preying on cattle.
Forest officials suspect that the animal, which used to attack and kill cattle in the neighbouring local body of Parunad till a couple of weeks ago, shifted to Vadasserikara in search of a new habitat. The animal might have moved out of Perunad as the Forest department, along with local residents, has begun clearing the undergrowth on abandoned rubber plantations there, they pointed out.
In view of the tiger sighting, the department has now placed a cage near the Kumaramperoor reserve forest at Vadasserikara where the animal was spotted. A special team too has been constituted to patrol the area.
As per reports, the tiger had entered the premises of the house of Ambily Sadanandan, an ASHA worker, at Chembarathil Mootil in Vadasserikara around 8 p.m. on Monday. Hearing a commotion at the backyard, the family members rushed outside and witnessed the tiger taking away one of the calves.
The tiger has been on the prowl in the region for nearly a couple of months and keeps preying on the livestock of settler farmers there.
According to forest officials, intense undergrowth on the abandoned rubber plantations has offered the tiger an ideal habitat outside the wild. In view of this, authorities have launched a drive to clear the shrubs across a wide area of around 200 acres.
