BENGALURU: The state forest department and veterinarians have a tough call to take. They need to capture a tigress and her three two-week old cubs, after her fatal attack on a farmer in Sargur taluk of Mysuru district, in Nanjangud range outside Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR).
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, PC Rai told TNIE that the farmer had unknowingly gone close to a drain where the cubs were resting, and the tigress attacked him out of sheer instinct to protect her young ones. It was an accidental killing, but the animal needs to be captured.
According to forest officials, this will be the first time a tigress and her three cubs will be captured after coming in conflict with humans on the forest boundary. The officials also fear for the safety of the cubs during the entire operation.
“A patrol team found pug marks here 4-5 days ago. After a thorough combing operation, it was confirmed that the attack was by a tigress and she has three cubs. Cages were kept to capture the carnivore on Monday morning. By evening, two of her cubs entered the cage. The team has been directed to wait all night for the mother to enter the cage. But if she doesn’t, she will be darted and captured,” Rai said, adding that this is the first time that such an incident has happened in recent times.
Forest teams and veterinarians had covered the uneven terrain on elephants on Sunday and Monday. The tigress was sighted on Monday, but was not darted because of the distance, he said.
Radio-collar plan
“We have asked the district administration, local police officers and district magistrate to impose Section 144 in the area, for a smooth rescue operation on Tuesday. The next course of action will be decided after the four animals are captured. While locals are demanding the tiger be placed in captivity, the plan is to radio-collar her and release all four deep inside the forest, after which they will be closely monitored. The final decision will be taken based on their medical and health reports,” Rai said.
Forest department teams also searched through camera trap images and tiger census data for the identity of the tigress, but did not find any. This could mean she was not counted during the last census because of location, or because she was just a cub when the exercise was done. She seems to be a first-time mother establishing territory in the forest periphery, noted BTR staffers.
