MYSURU: A 10-year-old tigress believed to be responsible for the killing of farmer Rajashekara in the Mullur village panchayat limits a month back and a series of other attacks in the region has been safely captured by forest authorities in the wee hours of Tuesday, following a high-intensity search and containment operation. Two cubs were also rescued in the operations.
The tigress had created panic in the region over the past few days after it killed Rajashekarappa and reportedly preyed on two cattle in separate incidents in the last two days. With this capture, a total of 11 tigers including their cubs have been captured in the region since the last one month.
Based on repeated complaints and rising fear among villagers, the forest department launched a coordinated operation to trace and capture the big cat. The operation was led by chief conservator of forests (CCF) Prabhakar S, along with wildlife veterinarian Dr Wasim, RFO Rajesh S D, and the forest department’s drone surveillance team. Officials Deepak, DRFO, and several ground staff also played key roles.
To track the tigress in the dense terrain, the team made extensive use of thermal drones, which helped in pinpointing the animal’s movement. A team of trained elephants Bheema, Mahendra, Sugreeva, and Prasantha was deployed to assist in navigating the forest patches and pushing the tigress out of hiding.
After several hours of careful monitoring, the tigress was successfully darted and captured without further harm to locals or the animal. After a while its cubs which were hiding too were rescued and sent to a rehabilitation centre. Officials confirmed that its age, pugmarks, and behaviour pattern strongly indicate that it is the same tigress involved in the recent fatal attack and cattle kills and said it will be confirmed after a report of DNA analysis.