Wayanad: The man-eater tiger of Koodallur, Vakery near Sulthan Bathery, walked into the trap laid by the forest department on Monday ending days of anticipation. 

The animal was caged on the 10th day after the death of Marottiparambil Prajeesh, a dairy farmer of Koodallur. The Forest department had laid multiple traps at spots where the pug marks of the animal were found. The tiger was trapped in a cage set at a coffee plantation at Kolanikavala, near the spot where the animal had killed the farmer on December 9.    

The veterinary team headed by Dr Arun Zachariah along with forest veterinarians is examining the animal. The animal would be shifted to the animal hospice near the office of the Wildlife Warden at Sulthan Bathery as soon as possible, sources said.  

Farmers’ siege ends, tiger to be shifted to Thrissur zoo 
The farmers’ siege of the forest department team with the caged tiger at a coffee plantation in Koodallur ended by 8 pm, six hours after the tiger walked into the trap.   

Hundreds of people in the area blocked the road, preventing the forest department personnel from shifting the tiger and demanding that it be killed, as promised earlier by the forest minister. 

However, repeated reconciliatory discussions between the forest department team, headed by Wayanad Wildlife Warden Dinesh Kumar and South Wayanad DFO Shajna Karim, with the representatives of farmers yielded results as the latter consented to withdraw the agitation if the tiger would be shifted outside the district. 

The top brass of the Department of Forest and Wildlife also had consented to the demand of the people. Sulthan Bathery MLA I C Balakrishnan and Wayanad Sub-Collector R Srilakshmi were also present in the talks. 

According to DFO Shajna Karim, the animal, now kept at the animal hospice at Pachadi near Sulthan Bathery, would be shifted to the new zoo at Thrissur at night. Though there are minor injuries, forest veterinarians have green-signalled the immediate shifting of the animal, said Shajna.

The forest department had identified the tiger as WWL 45, a male tiger, aged 13, listed in the department database as an inmate of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in the last census.  Identifying the animal helped the team to streamline strategies in tune with the National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines. 

Wayanad Wildlife Warden Dinesh Kumar and South Wayanad DFO Shajna Karim are also monitoring the ground-level operations and preparations to shift the tiger to the animal hospice.