Wayanad tiger tranquilised, to be moved to a protection centre

Wayanad: The forest officials have tranquilised the tiger that was on prowl in the human settlements at Nadammal Vayalil area of Kerala's Wayanad district. It will soon be transferred to a protection centre at Kuppadi near Bathery.

Soon after the tranquiliser dart struck the tiger after two rounds of shooting, it ran away to a nearby hill first, and the officials took a while to track it down. After waiting for a few minutes for the tranquiliser to take effect, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) officials netted the tiger and transfered it to a special cage. 

Same tiger killed farmer two days ago
It is suspected to be the same tiger that attacked and killed a farmer named Thomas at Vellaramkunnu in Puthussery here, two days ago. North Wayanad DFO Martin Lovell told Manorama News that it can be 99 per cent confirmed that it's the same tiger, taking into account its pug marks, movement pattern and stripes. He said that the tiger looks healthy, and it seems to opt for fields to move from one place to another. 

Spotted in a banana plantation
The tiger was spotted around 7.45am at a banana plantation on Saturday by employees of a nearby coffee plantation and they informed the wildlife officials. 

Earlier, the police asked local people to move from the area rather than crowding in the place, and this advisory even led to a brief scuffle between them. 

Wayanad Collector A Geetha said that while it is a consolation that the tiger is caught, it is a matter of concern that the wild animal ventured into a heavily populated area that is kilometres away from forest. "We had taken very quick actions to trap the tiger, even then, it took us a whole day to get it done. Regardless, I should say that all departments worked hard to ensure that the tiger is caught," said the Collector. She said that necessary steps will be taken to handle such instances in case of similar incidents in the future.