COIMBATORE: A 60-year-old man was found dead in a suspected tiger attack at Moonu Kuttai village en route to Gobanari near Karamadai on Sunday afternoon.
The deceased was identified as Velliangiri, a non-tribal resident of the village. Forest officials said Velliangiri, who regularly ventures into the forest to collect tamarind, failed to return home after entering the forest on Saturday at 4 pm.
Following information from his relative, a team of forest staff launched a search operation on Saturday evening, but called it off after nightfall owing to poor visibility. The search resumed on Sunday morning with the help of local residents. At 1.30 pm, the team located Velliangiri's partially consumed body inside dense bushes within the reserve forest.
Villagers suspect that the man had been attacked and killed by a tiger. Following the incident, Periyanaickenpalayam Forest Range Officer K Manoj and team took efforts to recover the body with the assistance of police personnel and local residents.
The body was later sent to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem examination. Forest officials said camera traps would be installed in the area to identify the animal.
"Although parts of the victim's body had been consumed by the animal, we could not find any pugmarks in the area due to rainfall. We are therefore unable to confirm whether the attack was by a tiger or a leopard. Camera trap footage and further investigation will help establish this," said Manoj.
As the incident occurred inside the reserve forest, the forest department is yet to decide on compensation for the victim's family. Meanwhile, Mettupalayam MLA Sunil Anand visited Moonu Kuttai village and condoled the death of Velliangiri.
