Sulthan Bathery: An aged and ailing tiger (Tholpetty-17) which fell in a trap at Kenichira has been kept in the same cage for the last ten days. The reason is that the animal hospice at Sulthan Bathery to which it should have been transferred already houses seven big cats, three more than its capacity.
The animal had been spreading terror in the Edakkad-Manthadam area near Kenichira and had killed four cows before falling into the trap.
Though the forest department has approached zoos and animal care centres across the state, they haven't received any response regarding shifting of tiger from the trap cage. Caught between the increasing number of aged tigers that step out from the wild to human habitats and shortage of facilities at the animal hospice in Wayanad which are already overcrowded, the forest staff here have been running from pillar to post to ensure emergency care and temporary health care for Tholppetty-17.
North Wayanad DFO Martin Lowel said that the decision to shift the animal to the Safari Park at Neyyar dam has been already decided but the order is delayed.'' The order will be issued at any time,'' he said, adding that the Chief Wildlife Warden is yet to sign the transit order.
The forest staff at Irulam are caught dealing with a tricky situation. Cleaning the cage is a tough task, as it has to be done with the animal in the cage. Though the animal had killed four cows, it couldn't eat any as it was weak to carry away the carcasses of the killed animals. An officer said that though the condition of the animal is better, the possibility of infection is still there as they are unable to ensure effective cleaning.
Every day eight kilograms of chicken is served for Tholppetty-17 along with medical care by veterinarians. Meanwhile, the veterinarians are worried about the health of the animal which has already lost three canine teeth and a fracture to a leg.
Three months ago the Wayanad Wildlife Warden submitted a proposal to the Department of Wildlife Welfare and Forests for upgrading the facilities in Wayanad with additional facilities to accommodate more problem animals. The existing facility at the Animal Hospice was designed to ensure palliative care and treatment to only four aged and critically ill big cats of Wayanad which now accommodates as many as 7 big cats including 4 male tigers. Now, the Wildlife Warden has demanded additional facilities to accommodate five more big cats in the Animal Hospices which would cost around Rs 1.4 Crore, according to officials.
