E-Paper
Sitapur tigress rescued after weeks of search
The feline caused panic after it killed a 22-year-old farmer in the district’s Maholi area on August 22
After terrorising people in the region for weeks, a tigress that mauled a man to death last month was finally caught and rescued in Sitapur’s Maholi range late on Saturday night, forest officials confirmed.
Divisional forest officer Naveen Khandelwal said on Sunday: “The tigress was trapped in a cage in Narni village under Maholi forest range and tranquilised. It was then taken to the Isliya forest area for primary assessment of her health. A decision on her final destination will be taken by senior officials later.”
The feline struck terror in the region after it killed a 22-year-old farmer on August 22. It then killed several domestic animals.
Anuradha Vemuri, the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) in Uttar Pradesh, said, “The animal may be taken to a zoo. Before taking any further decision, its health condition will be analysed to evaluate whether it can be released in a forest.” The state has three zoological parks.
Forest staff had placed multiple cages with bait for the past 22 days after confirming that the tigress was roaming the area.
Teams from Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Kartaniyaghat were deployed in Sitapur to conduct the rescue operation, which was completed around 10.30 pm.
The tigress, said to be over five years old, was said to have mothered two cubs. Forest officials were now looking for the cubs.
A total of five baits were used to catch her. However, she killed and ate four of them and even managed to escape on all previous occasions. Uttar Pradesh has 205 tigers, as per a census carried out in 2022.
