SULTAN BATHERY : Clever. Ferocious. Abnormal. These adjectives and more were used around Cheeral, a remote village in Wayanad, as people described the tiger that had been terrorising them for over a month.And for good reason. The carnivore, caught in the early hours of Friday, exhibited all these traits.
The tiger — identified as WWL 43 — was first spotted on September 25.
Aged above 10 years and missing the upper left canine, the beast would sneak into the premises of villagers’ houses and attack livestock. It had also managed to evade the traps laid by forest officials until now.As Rajesh, one of the villagers, put it: “The tiger was clever. It had avoided the four cages kept to trap it so far. The tiger would hit the cages with its forelegs to check whether there was a trap. Moreover, it would move around houses stealthily, evading humans. Owners of the cattle that were attacked had been unable to spot it, as it would vanish in a flash,” he said.
The forest guards who saw the beast after it was trapped vouched for its ferocity. They said the tiger kept hitting the cage with full force using its legs and head, trying to escape. It also lunged at them when they shone their torches at it.
Wayanad Wildlife Warden K Abdul Azeez summed it all up.“As per our analysis, it is an abnormal and unusually ferocious tiger. It would enter the village at night, kill cattle and return to forest by dawn,” he said.
He also dispelled villagers’ doubts whether it was the same tiger that had been terrorising them. “We documented its features. It’s more than 10 years old and has lost the left upper canine tooth,” he said.
Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) K S Deepa said the animal seemed to have health issues. “We will test its faecal matter and blood to analyse its health,” she said, adding they would not release the tiger into the wild as it will not be able to hunt.
Tiger may have lost its territory: Forest officials
“A decision on shifting the tiger will be taken after the medical tests are over. For that, we have to wait for it to calm down,” Deepa said. Forest officers opined that the tiger might have lost its territory in a fight. Normally a tiger’s territory extends up to 25 sq km. However, overpopulation of tigers at Wayanad sanctuary has led to rise in territorial fights. A tiger that loses territory normally moves to forest fringes. As it grows old and is unable to hunt, it enters villages to attack livestock which are easier prey.