‘Image of tiger captured, animal identified as WS-43, a resident of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary’
‘Image of tiger captured, animal identified as WS-43, a resident of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary’
The Forest department has intensified steps to capture the tiger on the prowl at Cheeral under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
Sanctuary officials constituted a 40-member special team consisting of trackers and veterinarians for combing operations on Saturday. The team was divided into four groups and they searched the entire area. However, they could not trace the animal, warden Abdul Azeez told The Hindu.
The wild cat has reportedly attacked nine head of cattle in 20 days, of which six cows died.
“The Forest department has set up a tree house to monitor the movements of the big cat, apart from installing 24 surveillance cameras in the area. We have got an image of the tiger, and it was identified as WS-43, a resident of the sanctuary,” he said.
The animal is expected to be captured soon, for which three cages have been set up. The Chief Wildlife Warden had granted permission to capture the tiger by darting tranquiliser, the warden said.
Meanwhile, the Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi has urged the government to constitute an expert committee to study the recurring wildlife attacks in the district. Mono-crop plantations of teak and eucalyptus in the forest, rampant growth of invasive plants like Senna spectabilis in the sanctuary, mushrooming of resorts on the fringes of forests, forest fire during summer, and tourist safaris inside forests had also accelerated man-animal conflict, the Samithi observed.
Since a scientific study was the need of the hour to address the issue effectively, the government should constitute a committee comprising wildlife experts, researchers, and affected farmers.
The organisation also demanded that the government pay compensation to farmers who lost domestic animals in wildlife attacks by utilising income from ecotourism centres inside the sanctuary.
