The tiger, that the Forest Department in Nanjangud launched an operation to trap 10 days ago, has proved to be elusive and is engaged in a hide-and-seek game with the department. It appears on camera traps at night but is not physically sighted by day.
The tiger was sighted near Doddakanya and other villages in Nanjangud and close to Kadakola Industrial Area.
‘’The tiger is a cub and based on the Forest Department’s data, it has been identified as T7. It may have been weaned away from its mother and was hence trying to find a foothold in areas where prey is easily available” said Malathi Priya, Chief Conservator of Forests, Mysuru Circle.
But there has been no cattle kill reported from anywhere in the vicinity, nor any attack on humans, and the tiger seem to be content preying on the live bait set up by the Forest Department in a bid to capture it. ‘’It has fed on the live bait twice so far and was making cautious approaches towards the bait before lifting it,” said Ms. Priya.
In view of the tiger’s tendency to approach the bait, the department personnel have also restricted movement in the vicinity so as to lure it so that it can be tranquilised and shifted.
Chikkanahalli forest is the nearest block and is at a distance of 10 km from Kadakola area where the present operations are on but it is unlikely that the tiger traverses the distance daily and could be lurking in the vicinity trying to establish a territory. If captured, it may be shifted to Nugu or other belts where there is an adequate prey base so that it can sustain itself in the wild.
A leopard, which also appeared in the camera traps in the initial stages of the combing operations launched 10 days ago, has not been sighted for the last few days and it is suspected to have retreated or moved on to other areas.
The authorities are also not using elephants for combing as the area is small and could disturb the tiger which could relocate and thus shift the problem. Hence, the ongoing efforts are to confine it to the present place in and around Chikkakanya and Doddakanya and capture it.
Meanwhile, local people in Chikkakanya, Doddakanya, Byathahalli and Sindhuvalli have been furnished with a list of dos and don’ts and the instructions have been circulated through mobile phones using WhatsApp.
K.N. Basavaraj, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Mysuru, said The Wildlife Advance Alert System (WAAS) downloadable from the department’s website (aranya.gov.in) under the e-initiative page has been promoted among maximum number of people in the area so that they could receive any alert pertaining to wildlife movement.
