Forest department staff from the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) continued their search for the tiger that killed a 50-year-old adivasi woman in the Singara Forest Range on Monday.
Deputy Director of MTR (buffer zone), L.C.S. Srikanth, said that around five sq.km. surrounding the site where the incident occurred was searched by a team of forest department staff on Tuesday. “Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were used to get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area and to try and spot the tiger,” said Mr. Srikanth. However, forest department officials were unsuccessful in their efforts.
Six camera traps were also set up in the area on Monday to capture an image of the animal. The camera traps were checked on Tuesday morning, but there were no images captured on the devices either, officials said.
Mr. Srikanth said that efforts would continue to be taken to identify the tiger that had attacked the woman. “We are also comparing census data from previous years to ascertain which tiger or tigers use that particular range of habitat, so we can narrow down the candidates,” he added. Such an exercise would be useful in figuring out whether the tiger that attacked the woman was a female with cubs or an older male. They said that the age, physical condition and other factors of the tiger would be an important indicator on whether the attack on Monday was incidental. It would also dictate the next course of action that will be pursued by the forest department.
Officials have also warned local residents to stay away from reserve forests and to not follow their livestock into the forests to graze. Interim compensation had also been handed over to the next of kin of the deceased on Monday, with officials promising that full compensation would be dispersed in a time-bound manner.
Forest department staff will continue to patrol the area over the next few days to ensure that people are safe and that the animal does not venture close to human habitations. Officials said that they believe that the attack was a one-off, incidental event, and will use vehicles fitted with microphones to inform people to stay inside their homes especially after nightfall.