UDHAGAMANDALAM: The search for the elusive tiger, which is identified as Mudumalai Division Tiger-23 (MDT-23) continued for the 12th day in the Masinagudi and Singara forest ranges in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR)-buffer zone here on Wednesday by setting up four treehouses (machans) and reducing the total number of forest special task force (STF) and rapid response team (RRT) personnel in the combing teams to 50.
This time, the teams mainly combed the outer circles of the location in the desperate effort to trace the big cat. However, the teams could not spot the tiger as the heavy rain in the evening disrupted the operation.
A forest officer said the number of people in the combing teams was reduced to ensure that the tiger and other animals were not disturbed during the operation. In the past 11 days, at least 120 to 150 forest, STF and RRT personnel were involved in the combing operation.
The treehouses, the officer said, were set up to monitor the tiger’s movement and tranquilize the animal.
It was also the day when Shekar Kumar Niraj, principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden, joined the ground search teams to check the potential habitats of the tiger - riverine and valleys edged by bamboo thickets.
“We used high resolution and fast-moving drones to scan the areas that we had zeroed in on based on the recorded evidences and data. Those were the areas that had high chances of the presence of the MDT-23. We, however, didn’t succeed on the day. We have intensified surveillance around the human habitats for the night,” he told TOI.
According to him, the operation to capture MDT-23 would be resumed at 6am on Thursday. “The plan is to increase the camera trap density in the identified areas and engage grazers in the search operation.”
Earlier in the day, Niraj had told the media that they were adopting different scientific strategies in the operation to capture the tiger. “The scientific methods are very complex and we have to be very careful, as we need to ensure the safety of the teams as well as the animals. High quality drones that are used in car racing are used for the operation to obtain high clarity visuals.”
