Vadasserikkara: Forest department officials have intensified the efforts to capture a tiger that strayed into the human habitat region in Vadasserikkara of the Ranni forest division in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.
Armed with guns, knives and other weapons, eight teams with six members each have been on the hunt for the tiger for the past six days.
The Ranni forest division personnel were deployed for the task after the local people complained of sighting the striped animal in Medappara.
A drone surveillance had confirmed the wild animal to be a tiger.
Drones are also used for patrolling and cameras too have been installed in the area. However, the forest personnel are finding it difficult to track down the tiger as the wild animal seems to be changing its habitat every day.
Generally, the tigers tend to occupy a space and rarely move out. But this tiger, that strayed into human habitation area, has been moving around, in contrast to the usual behaviour pattern.
Spotted for the sixth day
Though it was spotted for the sixth day on Wednesday, the tiger quickly retreated into the forest.
The tiger was found among the bushes near the Pezhumpara Ramabhai settlement colony around 7am on Wednesday. A person named Joy, who lives nearby, spotted the tiger around 100m away from his house. The tiger ran away when Joy raised an alarm.
Joy along with neighbours Binu, Rahul and Suresh searched the area, and spotted the tiger again.
After the authorities were informed, Ranni ACF K V Harikrishnan and his team of forest personnel rushed to the spot. They foraged the 3-acre area, but could not find the tiger. Even drones were pressed into service. They then installed cameras, procured from the Periyar tiger reserve.
In another instance, the tiger’s claw marks were found on the leg of a cow in the vicinity on Tuesday.
Ranni DFO M Unnikrishnan, range officers V Venukumar, R Adheesh, K Hashif, veterinary doctors Arun Zachriah, Shyam Kishore, expert teams from the forest department in Wayanad and Thekkady are also camping at the spot.
