Wayanad: Residents of Tirunelli forest regions under the North Wayanad Forest Division heaved a sigh of relief when the problem tiger that had been roaming the area for the past two months fell in the trap cage set up by the Kerala Forest Department on Tuesday night.

Though the forest department had set up three trap cages and 30 cameras in areas where the animal was spotted, the big cat had managed to stay clear of them till Tuesday.  

Forest officials on Wednesday said they have shifted the tiger to the Animal Hospice and Palliative Care unit at Pachadi near Muthanga.

Fed up with the constant animal raids, the people of the region had laid a siege to the interstate road connecting Karnataka and Kerala. Following the agitation, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests D Jayaprasad, who is also Kerala's Chief Wildlife Warden, on September 23 ordered the immediate capture of the tiger.    

A massive combing operation was carried out in the jungle zones by a 42-member team of the forest department for the past two days.

After the forest department confirmed the capture of the animal, a large number of villagers gathered at the spot to look at the animal that had spread terror in the locality for many months.