MYSURU: A four-year-old tigress and her three cubs were rescued from Kallahalli village in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar district in the early hours of Monday.
The rescue marks the culmination of a month-long operation by the forest department, which had been monitoring the animals after multiple reports of attacks on livestock in the region.
According to forest officials, the tigress – identified as Bandipur26_GP1 – was rescued following extensive tracking efforts using camera traps installed across Kallahalli, Padaguru, and nearby villages situated along the Bandipur Tiger Reserve’s buffer zone. The cameras had recently captured clear images of the animal, confirming its movements in the area.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and the additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Bengaluru.
The team was led by Bandipur Tiger Reserve Director S Prabhakaran and included Assistant Conservator of Forests K Suresh, Range Forest Officers Nisar Ahmed (Moolehole Range), R Shivakumar (Gundlupet Buffer Zone in-charge) and members of the Special Tiger Protection Force.
Veterinarians Dr Mirza Vaseem and Dr Ramesh, along with tranquilisation expert Ranjan, played a key role in the safe capture of the tigress and her cubs estimated to be around two months old.
Elephants assist forest team
Captive elephants Bheema, Mahendra, Sugreeva and Lakshmana were instrumental in assisting the team during the operation.
The rescue was monitored by Conservator of Forests (Tiger Project, Mysuru) Dr Ramesh Kumar and Conservator of Forests R Ravishankar.
Forest officials said the rescue was part of a sustained effort to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in the Gundlupet region, ensuring the safety of both the local community and the tigers.