SULTAN BATHERY: The villagers of Pazhur in Sultan Bathery were woken up by a loud roar around 3.30am on Friday. They alerted the officers at Thottamoola forest station who rushed to the cage kept at Pazhur. The cattle-hunting tiger which killed 11 cows and inflicted severe injuries on three cows has finally been trapped. The news spread like wildfire and villagers heaved a sigh of relief. So did the forest staff — from the chief conservator to the watchers — who were spending sleepless nights to capture the big cat. Finally, peace has returned to Cheeral.
The 10-year-old male tiger, which was first spotted on September 25, had been visiting the village regularly and attacking cattle, striking panic among the residents. It attacked 14 cows and killed 11. The farmers grew desperate as milch cows are the primary source of their livelihood.
Agriculture has become unviable for farmers living in forest fringes as elephants, deer, wild boar and monkeys regularly raid the crops. As the tiger started killing cattle, many farmers were forced to sell their cows.
Around 3am on Friday, the tiger entered the cow shed of Mullanpattackal Mani at Vallathur and killed a cow. As the family woke up and started screaming, the big cat ran away. From Mani’s house, the tiger passed through Pazhur where the forest department had kept a cage with a live calf tied inside as bait. The tiger, which has been avoiding the traps for the past month, entered the cage. Once got trapped, it turned violent and tried to break the cage. After half an hour, it calmed down, killed the calf, and ate a portion of its carcass. The big cat was later transferred to the Animal Hospice at Kuppadi in Sultan Bathery.
The forest department had mobilised forces, drawing staff from across the Wayanad district, after the farmers formed an action committee and launched a day and night protest. An additional rapid response team (RRT) from Thamarassery was deployed on Thursday to intensify the search.
Apart from the 25 cameras installed in the Pazhur forest area, 30 cameras were brought from the Parambikulam tiger reserve. Two live cameras were also installed to track the movements of the animal. Besides, two kumki elephants were brought to aid the search. A drone camera was also brought on Friday.
“It is a big relief. The farmers have been demanding a permanent solution to the wild animal menace. We will prepare and implement a comprehensive conflict mitigation plan for Wayanad district in view of the frequent incidents of tigers straying into human settlements,” said Chief Conservator of Forests (North) K S Deepa.
“The tiger is aged more than 10 years and doesn’t have an upper canine tooth. It cannot be released into the wild considering its age. Veterinarians will check the animal’s health after which a decision will be taken on rehabilitation,” she said.
Wayanad wildlife warden K Abdul Azeez said it is the coordinated effort that helped to capture the animal. “The entire staff in the Muthanga range had been striving day and night for the past two weeks to capture the tiger. The RRT with trackers and veterinarians carried out a combing operation to chemically immobilise the tiger. This was the most complex operation that we undertook,” he said.