Mananthavady: The man-eater tiger that terrorised the remote hamlets of Pancharakolli was found dead behind a house outside the forest on Monday morning. There were blood stains and marks of fresh and old wounds on the carcass. The carcass of the animal was found by the Rapid Response Team around 6.30 am.

The tiger’s body was shifted to the base camp at Pancharakolli, where forest officials confirmed by 8.30 am that it was the same animal that had spread fear in the region over the past few days. The forest department had officially declared the tiger a man-eater on Sunday.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Chief Forest Conservator (Northern Circle) K S Deepa stated that the RRT team had tracked the animal from 12.30 am to 2.30 am but had only attempted to tranquilise it. "There were no attempts to shoot the tiger; only continuous tracking was carried out," she said. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed, with a postmortem planned to determine the exact reasons.

Dr Arun Zachariah, who led the 30-member special team tasked with capturing the tiger, said the six-year-old female tiger had injuries consistent with fights and fresh wounds. "The body was found behind a house in the Moonnu Road area during a tracking operation at 6.30 am," he said. He also denied any attempts to kill or tranquilise the animal during the night, adding that the team had been tracking it until 2.30 am.

The tiger had earlier attacked a member of the RRT, Jayasurya, on Sunday morning while he was searching for it. The animal ambushed him from behind, causing injuries to his right arm despite his use of a shield. The team fired at the tiger in self-defence, but it managed to escape.

The forest department had deployed six additional teams to secure forest boundaries and track the tiger. Authorities had imposed a curfew in Pancharakolli, Mele Chirakkara, and Pilakkavu during the search, effective from 6 am on Monday.

The man-eater had claimed the life of a tribal woman, Radha, on January 24 while crossing a forest path. The tiger ambushed her from behind, dragged her into the forest, and partially devoured her, leaving the region in a state of panic. With the tiger’s death, residents of Pancharakolli can now breathe a sigh of relief after days of terror.