NILGIRIS: A 50-year-old tribal woman was killed in a tiger attack inside Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Mari, a resident of the Padi tribal village situated near the Theppakadu elephant camp.
The incident happened when she went inside the forest to collect firewood on Tuesday evening and she did not return home. The people informed forest officials at 9 pm and a team started searching for her. She was found dead at 5 am on Wednesday.
Following this, the villagers staged a road blockade protest at Theppakkadu, urging the forest department to capture the tiger that allegedly intruded on their settlement frequently. After one and a half hours, the people agreed to call off the protest after officials assured them to monitor the animal and take steps to prevent such incidents in future.
“We have confirmed that Mari was killed by the tiger, as we found some tiger hair. The animal had bitten into some portion of the body. We will fix 25 camera traps in the surroundings of the Padi tribal village to monitor the animal’s movement. Moreover, bushes will also be cleared to prevent the tiger from hiding in them,” said a senior forest department official.
The official said they are unsure if this is the same tiger that had attacked Anti-Poaching Watcher K Bomman in December. They have not declared the tiger which killed Mari a man-eater since only one incident has happened.
Officials of MTR handed over Rs 5 lakh as solatium to her husband. The body was handed over to their family after a postmortem on Wednesday evening.