Threat of a tiger attack looms large over Vadasserikkara grama panchayat and adjoining Medappara in Thannithode, where a plantation worker was killed by a tiger a few days ago.
K.R. Mohanan, a worker engaged in rubber tapping at a plantation at Chembon in Vadasserikkara, narrowly escaped the wild beast on Tuesday morning. It was at 4.30 a.m. when Mohanan spotted the striped animal lying on the ground between a teak tree and a rubber tree. The animal chased him for about 100 metres to the backyard of a nearby house and retreated into the plantation when people raised a loud noise. The Forest Task Force, camping at Maniyar and Medappara, rushed to the spot. Experts say the pug marks revealed that the tiger may be four to five years old.
Forest team
The forest party led by divisional forest officer M. Unnikrishnan and K.V. Harikrishnan is camping at Vadasserikkara.
The police spotted the tiger in the bordering forest area with the help of drones. The Forest Department has placed an iron cage, with a goat as a bait, at Vadasserikkara to trap the animal. This is in addition to two cages set up to capture the animal at Medappara. The tiger killed a calf at Maniyar, near Vadasserikkara, on Sunday.
