Kerala ‘man-eating’ tiger shot dead

Forest guard of Tamil-Nadu forest department has shot a tiger on Wednesday at Susamati forest in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. The man-eater had killed two persons.

The tiger was killed after five rounds of shots were fired at the animal. The body of the carnivore has been taken to Gudalur by Tamil Nadu officials. The news comes as a relief to the villagers in the border area closer to Wayanad of Kerala. The area also has a sizable Malayali population.

A joint combing operation by officials of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka was launched to capture the tiger that was sighted in the forest areas of Tamil Nadu. South Wayanad DFO’s team was leading the hunt.

An order was issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden to shoot the tiger down immediately on sight after it strayed into a private estate and killed Mahalakshmi, a woman estate worker in Pattavayal near here. On the same day, a youngster too was attacked and luckily, he escaped with minor injuries.

The villagers had blocked the road with Mahalakshmi’s body for several hours at Bidirkadu town demanding that the tiger be shot dead.

Photographs from the hidden cameras suggested that the tiger was injured and was unable to hunt for prey.

The killings created tension, with angry farmers vandalising government offices and threatening to hunt down the tigers themselves. With increasing human encroachment into their reserves, tigers often compete for resources with nearby villagers, leading to conflict.

Src:- http://english.manoramaonline.com/news/just-in/man-eater-tiger-shot-dead-near-kerala-tamil-nadu-border.html

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