Mysore/Mysuru: The tigress from Kerala with a snare entangled in its neck that trapped in Gundre Range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Feb. 28 is recuperating at Mysuru Zoo’s Chamundi Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, Koorgalli.  

The tigress had triggered panic among local residents at Kolavally in Wayanad on Kerala-Karnataka border. The big cat, aged about seven years, had killed three domestic animals and had injured a couple of Forest Department officers in the neighbouring State when they tried to tranquillise and capture it. The feline had moved to Bandipur and was spotted at Gundre Range.

The animal had deep neck injuries after it had got stuck in a snare made out of accelerator wire used in bikes and auto rickshaws. The snare injury on its neck had developed into sepsis. The big cat fell into a cage set up by Bandipur officials at Chamapare Beat near Angaithodu at Gundre. 

Veterinarians at the rescue centre have managed to remove the snare. The snare had entangled around the neck two to three months ago and had caused a two-inch wide and one-and-a-half inch deep gash. The tigress is not in a position to get up and move actively as it is exhausted and will take time to get back on to its feet. 

Zoo Director Ajit M. Kulkarni told Star of Mysore that they are doing their best to revive the tigress. Medicated dressing has been wrapped around its neck after cleaning the wounds. Maggots had infested the wounds and all of them had been removed. “We have applied medicines so that maggots do not populate again around the neck and painkillers, antibiotics and vitamins have been injected to the tigress for it to regain energy,” he said. 

Veterinarians are administering glucose for it to gain strength. “The medicines that have been administered so far will be effective till a week and it is not advisable to frequently inject medicines,” Kulkarni said. An encouraging factor is that the tigress is consuming chicken meat fed to it and also drinking water. This would help in speedy recovery and we are glad that the animal is not starving, he added. This is for the first time that an injured tigress to this extent has been brought to the rescue centre. “The tiger was in deep pain since the last two months and added to it, the feline was fully exhausted. We have taken it as a challenge and we realise that it is a daunting task,” Kulkarni said.