MADIKERI: The state forest department, following requests from the Kodagu forest department officials, has granted permission for the capture of a tiger that has allegedly claimed the lives of over 30 heads of cattle across South Kodagu. With permission in hand, the forest department officials of the district have laid plans to capture the tiger on the prowl, and cages have been set up for the same.
Nalkeri, Bolluru, Harihara, Birunani, T Shettigeri and few other villages of South Kodagu are being plagued by the lone tiger that is claiming cattle as its prey. The tiger has reportedly killed over 30 cattle in the surrounding villages over the past five months and farmers across these villages demanded that the big cat be captured immediately.
With an intention to study the hunting pattern of the tiger and to confirm the number of tigers entering the village limits, the Kodagu forest department had installed CCTVs across the affected village areas. Images of a single tiger entering the village limits was captured on CCTV, following which the Kodagu forest department sought permission from the state to capture the animal.
Meanwhile, the tiger that is causing nightmares to farmers across South Kodagu has been marked as Nagarhole Tiger 186 (NHT 186) and officials confirmed that it is the same tiger that is attacking cattle as one of the staff explained: “During autopsy of the all the cattle that were killed, it was observed that the wound inflicted by the right tooth of the tiger did not go very deep. And hence it was confirmed that a single tiger was attacking all these cattle.”
Cages have now been placed across farmlands lining the forest area including farmlands located in T Shettigeri, Belluru and Harihara villages. While a live piglet has been placed inside one of the cages, in two others half-eaten carcasses of the cows that were killed during the past attacks have been placed. Further, the capture mission has been set under the guidelines of National Tiger Conservation Authority and Standard Operation Procedure. The capture mission is headed by Virajpet DCF Shivashankar and the team consists of experts in the field, including four veterinarians, four sharpshooters and trackers.