Forest personnel identify one tiger that had killed cowherd woman; Night combing launched

Mysore/Mysuru: Camera traps installed at vantage points as part of the Forest Department’s operation to capture the tiger, which had killed a woman at Hediyala Range in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, have captured the images of two tigers at different spots.

The Forest Department staff have identified one of the tigers as the one which had killed a woman following which night combing operation has been launched to trace and capture the elusive big wild cat.

The Forest staff have also found a cow which was killed by the tiger within 1 km from the spot where the woman was killed sending a message that the tiger is nearby and can be  captured soon.

On Nov. 25 at about 11.45 pm, the Forest staff heard the roar of a tiger and when they followed the sound, they found the freshly killed cow near the solar shed at Kalanamanti. The tiger is said to have fled from the spot after hearing the sounds made by the Forest staff.

Yesterday too, the Forest staff heard the tiger roar at about 3 am and another team of Forest personnel rushed to the spot from where the tiger’s roar was heard only to find another cattle killed. As this spot is about 2.5 km away from the spot where the woman was killed, the Forest personnel have suspected that it is a different tiger and not the one which had killed the woman.

Taking no chances, the Forest authorities have deployed drones to track the tiger and Forest personnel were stationed near the spot, where the carcass of the cow was found, to identify the tiger based on the stripes and tranquillise it when it comes to devour the carcass. Another team of Forest staff has continued its operation in the surroundings of the spot, where the tiger had killed the woman. The Forest authorities are confident of tracing and capturing the elusive tiger soon.