Hunt for Bandipur tiger suspected of killing two ends in high drama

The tiger, as spotted by camera traps after sunset on October 12.

“The tiger is now under constant monitoring of veterinarians who are helping the feline to come out of the trauma it has gone through. This might take another eight to ten days after which the next step would be taken as per the Wildlife Warden’s instructions,” T Balachandra, Field Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve told Indianexpress.com

Though 144 camera traps were laid to identify its location, capturing the wild cat proved to be an uphill task. Members of the Soliga tribe, who were assisting the search, found the tiger after following its pug trail.

A contingent of six elephants led by Abhimanyu, and a specially-trained German Shepard dog named Rana were among the animals that assisted the team in spotting the large feline. Express Photo

A tranqulliser dart was fired at the tiger at 1.26 pm on Sunday but it disappeared into the thick vegetation. This led to several anxious moments among the forest staff as the medicinal effect of the tranquilliser would last for only about 90 minutes. However, officials heaved a sigh of relief after they found the tiger sedated as the team closed in to capture it.

“The commitment of the team was intense, even though the challenges of operating from a tense terrain, round the clock for five days straight kept cropping up. With thousands of people gathering around to watch the operations, ensuring no untoward incident takes place while and after capturing the tiger was another concern our team had,” Balachandra said.

Conservationist and former member of the Karnataka Wildlife Board, Joseph Hoover told Indianexpress.com that better equipment like thermal imagery dart guns would have helped in capturing the tiger sooner. He also said that inducting wildlife veterinarians as permanent forest department staff in tiger reserves would help in handling such situations better in the future.

“Holding regular interactions with local residents of the areas are equally important as winning their confidence to respond to their issues would better the entire process,” said Hoover, who was part of the search team.

End of the melodrama- capture of the so called man eater of Bandipur. There is nothing as a man eater. It’s a term coined by the hunters of the British era, without any scientific backing. With 40% tigers living outside TR in Karnataka conflict is going to be worse in future. pic.twitter.com/Z1AW4XWYCb

— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) October 14, 2019

Two days after capturing the tiger, forest officials are still on continuous interactions with the villagers of the area. “It is important to ensure that no gaps between the department and the residents of the villagers sustain. While we are trying to give them awareness on these issues, it is also important to understand their risky side of the story as well,” Balachandra added.

Earlier this month, a press release signed by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Project Tiger) that called for the capture of the tiger — dead or alive — within 24-48 hours caused controversy.

It led to protests by conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts who demanded the order be revoked and that the wild cat should be tranquilised instead to be caught alive.

Tiger numbers in the 872 square kilometre-forest in Bandipur have been on the rise over the years, although encroachments have resulted in a decrease of the forest area for the wild cats.