Big cat injured due to territorial fight; to be shifted to Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park

Mysore/Mysuru: The tiger that had mauled a shepherd to death near Hunsur on Monday was trapped inside a cage late last night. A few remains of 65-year-old Jagadeesh was found near D. Haadi of Neralakuppe by the Forest Department officials yesterday morning and they had decided to keep two cages.

The tiger, which had left some parts of the body uneaten, had come to the same place looking for a meal last night and fell into the trap. Officials said that the feline entered the cage on its own and was trapped. It is for the first time in the recent past that the tiger had attacked a human being in Neralakuppe.

Forest officials told ‘Star of Mysore’ that while tigers attacking villagers on the fringes of Bandipur Tiger Reserve was a commonplace, the first such incident was reported on Monday last near Hunsur. There are over 25 villages near Hunsur range of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve and a majority of the villagers are tribals who lead a life by working in nearby fields and also collecting forest produce.

Though rail fencing has been laid through the length and breadth of the forest fringes to prevent wild elephant attacks, the fences are of little help to prevent the entry of big cats from forests to villages. The tiger that had killed Jagadeesh is a male of 11 to 12 years and had its territory around Veeranahosahalli, Kallahalla range and surrounding areas in 2011 and 2012.

The tiger was not sighted by the Department staff since the last two years and was spotted in a camera trap laid along its territory. As a tiger was attacking livestock on the fringes, more cameras were installed and it was established that it is the same male Kallahalla tiger that had migrated to the forest fringes near Hunsur.

Normally a tiger will have 25 to 30 kilometres of territory and this particular feline had made some of the villages its territory and had eaten off many cattle heads. It used to make its presence felt in one village and the very next day it would move kilometres away and be difficult to track, said officials.

This tiger is nearing its old age and was looking for an easy prey as it is not in a position to hunt. “The incident of human kill and the tiger trapping has been reported to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and we will follow the NTCA guidelines on the further action to be taken,” said T. Heeralal, Chief Conservator of Forests, Mysuru Circle.

Latest reports from Hunsur say that the tiger is injured in territorial fights and has wounds all over its body. As such, the feline is unable to hunt and if it is let inside forests, it will continue to look for easy prey and might attack human beings. Officials have decided to shift the big cat to the Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBBP) where medical attention can be given to it, said officials.