COIMBATORE: The presence of four individual tigers was recorded in camera traps set up in the surroundings of Theppakadu in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the last one week. Forest department officials' and animal activists' development is an important one as individual tigers usually stay in their own territories.
Initially, 21 cameras were set up in Yanaipadi, a tribal settlement, and the cameras were increased at Lightbody in the Theppkkadu forest range and Thekkupadu in the Kargudi forest range and the animal movements are being monitored centrally.
The officials said there is less chance of any of these tigers having killed 50-year-old woman Mari. Except for Mari’s death, no other incident of tiger intrusion was reported in and around Theppakadu. A senior officer in MTR told TNIE, “We found that the tigers are not old or injured but are active.
Only aged and sick tigers target easy prey such as cattle and humans, so there are fewer chances of these animals having killed the woman. However, a detailed study of tiger movement is underway and we will get more details on this only after that. Further, these animals have been using the same pathway for the past ten more months.”
The department officials have provided additional light facilities near the tribal houses and cleared invasive species like Lantana and Senna spectabilis for the residents to use as firewood to prevent human-tiger interaction.
“After the previous meeting with the tribals, we have renovated the toilets so that they won’t have to venture into the forest to defecate during which human-animal conflicts arise,” the official added.