E-Paper
U.P.: Dudhwa foresters trap the tigress that killed a boy on Nov 10
Through the analysis of camera images, the captured tigress has been established to be the same which had attacked and killed a 10-year boy Jaseem of Nimbuabojh, said deputy director, Dudhwa buffer zone, Sundaresh
Dudhwa buffer zone forest officials on Tuesday traced and tranquillised a tigress that had strayed away from Dudhwa buffer zone forest and had killed a 10-year-old boy of Nimbuabojh village under Palia kotwali area on November 10, forest officials said.
The tigress was spotted and subsequently captured in a sugarcane field near Nagla village under the Dudhwa buffer zone area, they added. Confirming it, deputy director, Dudhwa buffer zone, Sundaresh (who goes by single name) said, “Through the analysis of camera images, the captured tigress has been established to be the same which had attacked and killed a 10-year boy Jaseem of Nimbuabojh.”
“The tigress has been brought to Dudhwa forest headquarters where a team of veterinary doctors examined the big cat to enable us to decide further course of action,” he added. He further said, “the captured big cat turned out to be a tigress and her age had been estimated to be four to five years.”
“No physical injuries or deformities have been detected on the body of the tigress and her canines, paws, nails were found intact during the physical examination,” the forest official said.
Dudhwa field director, Sanjay Kumar Pathak, who is in Delhi to attend a workshop on tigers, told over phone, “This was the tigress whose movements around the human habitations were frequently observed and were a matter of serious concern for us.”
Pathak said the human-killing by the captured tigress on Nov 10 might be a chance killing. However, the way in which the tigress had started visiting the human habitations had sent an alert message about her changed behaviour.
He added that the captured tigress would be kept under observation for the next 24 hours during which her behaviour would be minutely observed so as to decide her shifting to forest area or to some other place.
The November 10 human killing by the tiger had led to resentment among the villagers and they had resorted to a massive demonstration. In view of the public outrage, field director, Dudhwa, Sanjay Kumar Pathak along with deputy director Sundaresh met the agitating villagers and assured them to sort out the issue.
With permission from the senior forest authorities to trap and tranquillise the big cat, Dudhwa elephants were deployed to comb the area while patrolling teams, cages and cameras were set in action to locate and capture the tigress. Pathak said the tigress was trapped after over a fortnight of intensive combing and patrolling in the area.
