
KALPETTA: A tigress that killed 47-year-old Radha, a Scheduled Tribes woman working on a coffee plantation, has been found dead despite the forest department’s attempts to tranquillise the wild cat. The body was found at 6am on Monday near the house of Rijo, a resident along the Moonnu Road on the Pilakkavu-Pancharakolli route.
The postmortem was completed at the Forest Veterinary Hospital in Kuppadi, revealing that the tigress had consumed pieces of clothing, earrings, and hair belonging to Radha. The initial postmortem report suggests that the animal’s death resulted from a neck wound, likely sustained during a fight with another big cat.
“The tigress was not in our database. It had four deep neck wounds, which we believe were caused by a confrontation with another tiger. It was a female between 4 and 7 years old. There were no gunshot wounds, and no metal marks were found on the body,” said Chief Wildlife Warden Pramod G Krishnan.
The tigress, in a weakened state, had been under observation by the mission team since the previous night. “The presence of the tigress was reported at 12.30 am in the Monnu Road area. A forest department team and a team led by Arun Zachariah began patrolling the region. The tigress was spotted again around 2.30 am, and authorities attempted to tranquillise it, but the shot missed. The tigress was found dead the following morning,” said Kannur chief conservator of forests K S Deepa. There was initial confusion over whether the missed tranquilliser shot contributed to the tigress’s death.
With the threat now neutralised, local residents expressed relief, though some remained cautious. “We are happy that the danger from the human-eating tiger is over. People can now return to work, and children can go to school. But we remain concerned that this relief may be temporary, as other wild animals could pose a threat,” said Pathumma, a councillor from Pilakkavu ward. The curfew imposed in the Pancharakolli, Pilakkavu, and Chirakkara areas of Mananthavady municipality has been lifted following the death of the big cat.
Forest Minister A K Saseendran said that combing operations will continue for two more days in areas of Wayanad district where human-wildlife conflicts are prevalent. “While the tigress responsible for the panic in Pancharakolli is dead, our special team will continue inspections in areas where tiger sightings have been reported,” the minister said after a high-level meeting at the Mananthavady divisional forest office.