The Forest department is preparing to stop combing for the elusive tiger that triggered panic among the public under the four divisions of the Mananthavady Municipality in Wayanad district.
The big cat is believed to have killed 17 domestic animals and attacked two animals in the Kurukkanmoola area under the North Wayanad Forest Division in a couple of weeks.
The Forest department had launched the comprehensive combing operation with the support of 200 frontline Forest staff, two trained elephants, three drones and a team of veterinarians for the predator on December 10, but the animal is yet to be spotted.
“There were no reports on domestic animal lifting from the area for the past 11 days, hence, the senior Forest officials of the district were directed to stop the combing after discussing it with a committee constituted for the purpose as per the direction of the National Tiger Conservation Authority”, D.K. Vinod Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forests, Northern Circle, Kannur, told The Hindu.
As many as five cages were also set up in the area to trap the animal and they would be removed from the area as the Forest near the area was home to a few individual tigers and leopards, Mr. Vinod Kumar said.
However, the 70 camera traps installed in the forest area would continue to monitor the movements of wildlife, including the elusive tiger. A team of Forest officials was constituted for patrolling in the area and they would act at once in an emergency, he said.
“The animal is a victim of cable snare laid by poachers and it sustained deep injuries on its neck. Hence, we suspect that either tiger might have died of the injuries or moved to inner forest. The fire season is fast approaching and we have to deploy the field staff for preparing strategies to keep forest fire at bay”, he said.
