An adult tiger with worn out canines and frequenting human habitation in the N. Begur range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, was tranquillised and captured on Tuesday to the relief of villagers.
The tiger – suspected to be over 10 years old – was hovering outside the forest boundary and preying on domestic animals since July. Though the authorities monitored its movement and made all efforts to drive it back to the jungles, it used to return to the villages bordering the park boundary.
A committee comprising Forest Department officials and local representatives was constituted. Finally, it was decided to capture and shift the tiger as it had become habituated to prey on domestic animals and hence posed a threat to the locals as well, according to R. Balachandra, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
Veterinarian R. Nagaraj who was part of the combing operation said they deployed five elephants to scour the area and the operation commenced last week. Despite many sightings, the animal used to slip away. But there was another complaint of a domestic animal being killed by a tiger at Devalapura Hundi last night. So the combing team headed towards the village and spotted a few fresh pug marks and spread out to track the elusive tiger.
It was hide-and-seek between the tiger and the park authorities since morning and was first sighted in a banana plantation but slipped away. It was eventually found resting in a field at 11.45 a.m. – almost 4 km from the forest boundary - and was immediately tranquillised. The tiger was shifted to a cage and revived as per the standard protocol and will be shifted to Bannerghatta in Bengaluru.
He said there was no question of the tiger being released back into the wild as it was old and could not defend its territory. Besides, it posed a threat to the villagers and hence it was the opinion of the experts to keep it in captivity. As there is no space in the Chamundi Animal Conservation Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Mysuru, it was decided to shift the tiger to Bannerghatta, he added.
