A 24-year-old tribal youth was mauled to death by an animal, suspected to be a tiger, at Kaduvakkunnu under the Chedalayath forest range inside the South Wayanad forest division on Wednesday.
Forest officials identified the victim as Sivakumar, son of Madhavan, of the remote Basavankolly Kattunayaka settlement, near Pulpally, in the district. Sivakumar had been reported missing since Tuesday noon after he went to the forest to collect firewood, his relatives said.
The Forest Department officials and tribespeople searched for the youth inside the forest till midnight, but in vain. His mutilated body was found nearly 1.5 km from his settlement on Wednesday morning.
The officials identified pug marks of a tiger near the body. South Wayanad divisional forest officer B. Ranjith Kumar and forest range officer, Chethalayath forest range, B. Sasikumar visited the site.
Forest Minister K. Raju announced a solatium of ₹10 lakh to the kin of the deceased. Of the sum, ₹5 lakh would be given immediately. Mr. Raju directed the Forest Department officials to adopt steps to capture the man-eater at the earliest.
Eight surveillance cameras had been installed in the area to monitor the movement of the animal and a cage had also been set to trap it, Mr. Ranjith Kumar told The Hindu. A 20-member rapid protection force team had been constituted and they would patrol the area round the clock, he added.
