Stray Wayanad tiger killed 18 livestock

KOZHIKODE: The attempts by forest authorities to capture the stray tiger which had killed as many as 18 livestock in Wayanad during the last one month have not met with success till late Tuesday night.
Though the special search teams, comprising around 50 forest staff, managed to locate the tiger inside the forests at Puthuveedu near Valluvadi at around noon, the animal ran into the wild after the attempt by veterinary surgeons to fire tranquilizer dart failed.
Assistant Wildlife Warden, Kurichiyad Range, Ajith K Raman said that the tiger was sighted in a Lantana bush at around 12 noon following which a live buffalo was kept as a bait in a nearby open patch of forest land.
A tree- top machan was set up and two veterinary surgeons armed with tranquilizer guns mounted the machan and took aim to fire dart at the tiger.
"The tiger emerged out of the forests at 3.45 pm and killed the buffalo. But the tranquilizer dart missed the mark and the animal ran back to the forest in a flash," forest officials said.
Following the unsuccessful darting attempt, the forest authorities have set up a trap cage at the site and have placed the carcass of the buffalo as bait.
The tiger had killed as many as 18 livestock in the last one month and five heads of cattle in the past one week alone.
The frequent sightings of the tiger near human habitations in the forest fringe villages had created panic among residents who have been on a warpath seeking protection from the big cat. They had resorted to blockading of roads and had even detained forest officials. Though the authorities has now fixed four trap cages the tiger has been avoiding them.