The massive combing operation by the Forest department to trace WS-43, the tiger on the prowl in Cheeral area under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, on Thursday proved futile.
The department had mobilised 100 forest personnel from the sanctuary, a rapid response team, and two territorial forest divisions for the operation, and they searched the fringes of the forest and nearby villages under the Muthanga range for the elusive predator.
“We could not find any images of the tiger in the camera traps at 26 sites, and the trackers could not find even pug marks of the animal owing to the heavy showers the previous night,” said warden Abdul Azeez.
The wild cat had triggered panic among villagers after it reportedly attacked nine head of cattle in three weeks, of which six cows died. Many residents had sighted it in human habitats too.
The officials had set up three cages to capture the animal, and the Chief Wildlife Warden had granted permission to capture the animal using chemical tranquiliser.
A few days ago, officials got an image of the tiger and they identified it as WS-43, a resident of the sanctuary.
The routine search for the tiger and round-the-clock patrol by a six-member forest team would continue in the coming days, said Mr. Azeez, who supervised the operation.
