Tiger captured hours after it killed woman, injured 1: Official

On Monday night, the tiger attacked a 35-year-old man but it fled when the family members raised an alarm. On Tuesday, 70-year-old woman was mauled to death by the same tiger

Hours after a tiger attacked two people, in which one was mauled to death, in Chamarajanagar taluk the animal was captured and tranquilised on Tuesday, a forest official said.

The tiger was old and unable to hunt wild prey, which may have driven it to target humans (AP)

On Monday at around 11 pm, the tiger attacked 35-year-old Raju Pujar, resident of Ramaiyyanapodu village, when he stepped out of a relative’s home to relieve himself, BRT Tiger Reserve project director B Sripathi said.

“The tiger pounced on him but fled after family members raised an alarm and scared it away. Raju was shifted to Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) and is out of danger,” he said.

Pujar’s mother, Jayamma Pujar, said that the tiger had been seen roaming in the area for the past month.

Sripathi further said that the same tiger killed a 72-year-old woman on Tuesday at around 6 am near Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve.

“Rangamma P was attacked by the same tiger while she was outside her house, The animal mauled her fatally and partially consumed her body, devouring parts of her head and abdomen,” he said.

Alarmed by the twin attacks, the forest authorities launched a swift operation to capture the tiger. Two trained elephants, Bheema and Gajendra, were deployed, and the tiger was located and tranquilised within a few hours, the official said.

According to Sripathi, the tiger was old and unable to hunt wild prey, which may have driven it to target humans. “As per instructions from higher authorities, we captured the tiger and shifted it to the rehabilitation center in Koorgalli near Mysuru,” he said.

Karnataka forest, ecology and environment minister Eshwar B Khandre expressed his sorrow over the loss of life and said: “Raju, who was injured in the earlier attack, is now receiving treatment and is out of danger. However, the woman could not be saved. I have directed forest officials to cover Pujar’s medical expenses and provide compensation to the deceased’s family.”