KOZHIKODE: Pulling out all stops to capture the elusive tiger which had been spreading panic at Kurukkanmoola in Wayanad for over two weeks, the forest department is planning to lure it out by playing out loud recordings of tiger mating calls.
Though the department had mounted an unprecedented search operation mobilizing over 100 forest staff apart from using trained kumki elephants, drones, camera traps and setting up five cages, it has all proven futile so far to capture the injured tiger, which has killed as many as 16 domestic animals during the last 18 days.
“We are trying out all the resources we have and we are planning to use play back of recorded mating calls of tigers to see if the tiger would respond to it,” conservator of forests, northern region (Kannur), D K Vinod Kumar said.
He said that the technique was successfully tried out at Bharatpur in Rajasthan in 2011 to capture an elusive male tiger.
Meanwhile, the forest authorities on Thursday repositioned some of the cages after tiger killed a cow at Payyamballi around 3km away from Kurukkanmoola. Also, a goat had gone missing from the area.
Following the killing, residents raised protests and blockaded the forest officials who visited the spot and demanded that a special task force should be constituted for the search and capture operations. The staff identified the pug marks and places where it had lied down.
Forest officials said that they have requisitioned around 30 police personnel to aid in the search and capture operations on Friday.
Meanwhile, forests and wildlife minister A K Saseendran convened a high-level meeting of forest officials to review the situation. The minister said that the government was fully aware of the emotions of the public and all attempts will be made to tranquillize and capture the tiger. After capturing it, the tiger will be given treatment, he said.
Chief wildlife warden Bennichan Thomas had been deputed to leave for Wayanad on Thursday, for coordinating the activities to capture the tiger, Saseendran said. He said that the search operation will be extended to the interior forest region as well.
(With inputs from T’puram)
