TIRUNELVELI: For the first time in the district, two wild boars were shot dead near Ulupadipparai village near Ambasamudram on Thursday by a team formed by the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve administration as part of a state government-sanctioned operation to prevent crop damage in farmlands bordering forests.
According to forest officials, the operation was carried out by field staff of the Ambasamudram forest range around 3 am after a herd of wild boars was spotted in patta land near the KMTR boundary.
“The animals were shot as per a government order, dated January 9, 2025, which permits regulated measures to control wild boar-related crop destruction. The carcasses were examined, and samples were collected for testing before being chemically treated and buried nearby.
The district-level committee, including Collector Dr R Sukumar and Deputy Director (Wildlife Warden) of KMTR L C S Sreekanth, approved the action. Prior to the operation, Ambasamudram forest personnel received training on safe and precise shooting,” forest officials said in a statement.
Forest staff have also been conducting night-time monitoring to drive wild boars back into forest areas within 1 km of the reserve boundary. Special cages have been installed to capture boars straying 1 to 3 km outside the protected zone and release them back into the forest, the statement read.