MADIKERI:The villagers of Siddapura region near Madikeri are facing a new problem along with the wild elephant menace. Cases of tiger attacks on cattle are on the rise from last one month. Villagers are scared to step out during nights.
On December 21, a cow belonging to Mohammed from Bajekolli, which was left for grazing did not return home. Family members searched for the cow in vain. On December 22, another cow belonging to farmer Pemmaiah also did not return home. A total of five cattle have disappeared since last twenty days.
On December 28, labourers of Alethop estate found decomposed cadavers of five cows eaten by a tiger. The tiger menace is not new to villagers. Tigers kill cattle occasionally as the village is located close to Nagarahole Wildlife Sanctuary.
The increased tiger menace has been giving sleepless nights to villagers as they depend upon cattle for livelihood. V N Pemmaiah, a farmer in Siddapura told Express that small and marginal farmers had taken up dairy farming to improve their economic condition. He said farmers even started rearing cattle after price of coffee and pepper came down drastically. He said wild elephants were destroying crop worth thousands of rupees, while the tiger menace had made their lives miserable.
Faisal from Bajekolli said he had spotted a tiger three days ago while he and his father were returning home in a car. He said he had informed Forest officers about the tiger’s presence in human habitat but officials had not taken any action. Villagers allege that forest officers provide meagre compensation for wild animal menace cases. The cows killed by tigers worth over Rs 20,000 to 25,000. They urged to catch the rogue tiger to save cattle.
Three months ago, a tiger killed two cows in Biruga near Srimangala . Forest officials installed 5 CC cameras to catch the tiger. The camera caught the movement of tiger in Maldare forest near Siddapura but it disappeared after a while.
Leopard caught
Hassan: Villagers of Agrahara heaved a sigh of relief as forest officials on Thursday captured a leopard which has been prowling in the village for many months. A five-year-old leopard has been creating panic among villagers for the past one and half months. Forest officials placed a cage in a land belonging to one Annegowda of Agrahara to trap the leopard. The leopard had mauled sheep, street dogs and cows in Agrahara and adjacent villages. Villagers had staged a protest against forest officials a week ago.