Kerala forest dept sets up cage to capture tiger

The Kerala forest department set up a cage and is engaged in extensive surveillance on Monday in its bid to capture a tiger that killed a farmer near Vakery in Wayanad district, officials said.

The Kerala forest department set up a cage and is engaged in extensive surveillance on Monday in its bid to capture a tiger that killed a farmer near Vakery in Wayanad district, officials said.

While the forest department initially ordered to tranquilise and capture the animal, massive protests by locals forced the authorities to invoke the “shoot-to-kill” option if efforts to catch it alive became futile. (Representational/HT file)

The mutilated body of 36-year-old T Prajeesh, who had gone out near a forest area to gather grass for his cattle, was found by locals on Saturday who found pug marks of the tiger near the spot. The body was seen to have been dragged by the tiger closer to the forest.

While the forest department initially ordered to tranquilise and capture the animal, massive protests by locals forced the authorities to invoke the “shoot-to-kill” option if efforts to catch it alive became futile. “If the animal cannot be captured or tranquilised, and it is established as a man-eater, then it should be killed, as it has become dangerous to human life in the region,” the order read.

“As part of our efforts to capture the tiger, we have set up a cage in an area where we suspect the animal to be. Camera traps have been planted as well to detect the movements of the tiger. So far, we have not got any solid visuals. On the side, we are engaged in continuous surveillance and perambulation exercises. All teams are on standby,” said A Shajna, divisional forest officer, Wayanad (South).

Teams of veterinary officials are also present in the area in case the tiger is successfully tranquilised.

A tiger census conducted in 2016 had confirmed the presence of 58 individuals in the Periyar and Parambikulam tiger reserves in the state, the government had said in the Assembly.