COIMBATORE: A 38-year-old tribal man died in a suspected tiger attack at Governor’s Shola Forest in Nilgiris on Wednesday. The carnivore had partially consumed his flesh, the forest department said. The deceased was identified as M Kenthar Kuttan belonging to the Toda community at Kollakode Manthai.
Sources said Kuttan was a bachelor and used to graze buffalos for a living . On Wednesday, the buffaloes that went into the forest did not return for a long time. In the evening, Kuttan went inside the forest in search of the animals and also to collect firewood. But, he did not return home.
His relatives searched for him throughout the night and on Thursday morning. They found his half- devoured body in Governor’s Shola Forest, which is located about one km from the area where loved.
On information, a team of forest department officials led by S Gowtham, DFO (Nilgiris) visited the spot. They recovered the body and sent it for post mortem examination to the Ooty Government Medical College Hospital.
Gowtham told TNIE,
“Looking at the way his body has been mutilated, we suspect he was attacked by a tiger. Samples have been sent for analysis. We have placed 15 camera traps at the area to check for the animal. Also, rapid response teams have been deployed in the forest.”
The state government announced Rs 10 lakh solatium to the family of the victim. The cheque was handed over to the family by forest department officers on Thursday.
This is second incident in the last two weeks of a human being killed by a carnivore in Nilgiris. In the earlier incident, a 50-year-old woman was killed by a leopard at Arakadu near Doddabetta peak.