Kerala's man-eater tiger found dead with injuries

NEW DELHI: A 'man-eater' tiger that killed a woman when she had gone to collect coffee beans in a forest-fringed estate two days ago, was found dead in Kerala's high-range district of Wayanad in the early hours of Monday, forest officials said.

The tiger's death came after widespread protests erupted following a woman's death, prompting the state government to designate it as a man-eater on Sunday and plan its elimination.

Forest personnel, who conducted round-the-clock search operations, discovered the deceased tiger with severe neck wounds within Pilakavu Estate at 2:30 am on Monday.

Officials confirmed the identity of the tiger through stripe pattern analysis, verifying it was the same animal that had killed Radha, aged 46, on Saturday, causing widespread fear in Pancharakolli region.

KS Deepa, Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Northern Circle, indicated that a postmortem examination would be necessary to determine the precise cause of the tiger's death.

She stated that forest officials had been tracking the tiger's movements through surveillance cameras positioned at various locations in the area.

According to her, despite an unsuccessful attempt to tranquilise the animal early Monday morning, the tiger was subsequently found dead in the Pilakavu area.

Following the fatal attack on the woman, authorities implemented a curfew in specific sections of Mananthavady Municipality on Sunday.

Forest Minister A K Saseendran officially classified the tiger as a man-eater after a high-level meeting at the district collectorate on Sunday.