The Forest department has constituted an 80-member special team to capture the big cat that is suspected to have killed a farmer at Koodallur in Wayanad district.
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran said on Wednesday that the team consisting of veterinary doctors, shooters, and a patrolling team would launch combing for the man-eater from Thursday. He said as many as 25 live camera traps and sufficient number of cages and guns had been allotted for the purpose. Residents need not panic as Forest officials had intensified round-the-clock patrol, he added.
The Chief Wildlife Warden had issued an order on Sunday to shoot the tiger dead if it was not possible to tranquilise and capture the animal, following protests by farmers and local residents.
Wayanad Sub Collector and Sub Divisional Magistrate R. Srelakshmi had clamped Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Ward 11 of Poothady grama panchayat till Thursday owing to the operation.
Meanwhile, a few fowls in a poultry farm owned by Jatheesh Changaramparambil at Koodallur were reportedly killed in a tiger attack on Tuesday night. Forest officials identified pugmarks of a tiger on the premises of the farm on Wednesday.
“We are tracking the animal closely after collecting ample evidence,” South Wayanad Divisional Forest Officer Shajna Kareem told The Hindu. Officials had set up one more cage and installed more surveillance cameras near the poultry farm, Ms. Kareem said.
Meanwhile, the combing operation for the tiger in Koodallur and Moodakkolly areas on Wednesday proved futile.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala urged the government to expedite steps to kill the elusive tiger. Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Mr. Chennithala said recurring wildlife attacks and animal crop raids were a major concern for farmers in the district, and that it was the duty of the government to ensure protection of life and property of citizens.
The government should provide a compensation of ₹50,00,000 to the kin of the deceased farmer and adopt steps to separate human habitats from the forest, he said.
