Problem tiger of Armori captured

Chandrapur: The dreaded tiger of Armori range, responsible for two human kills, was tranquillized and captured by the rescue team from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) on Monday evening. Two consecutive kills, both in agriculture fields, within a span of 24 hours had stirred the people against the forest department, forcing the officers to issue capture orders against the problem tiger.
Rapid Response Unit (RRT) of TATR was deployed for the operation. The sub-adult male tiger, identified as T-9, had killed a woman in a farm near Arsoda village in Armori tehsil of Gadchiroli district on May 13. The same tiger had killed another farmer in a farm near Armori, just one km from the previous kill spot, on very next day.
While residents in surrounding villages were terrified by two killings within 24 hours, people’s representatives and social organizations had mounted pressure on the forest department to neutralize the problem feline.
Buckling under pressure, forest department had issued capture orders and the same RRT unit that had captured dreaded leopard of Durgapur recently was deployed in Armori. Foresters had tethered a bait at sensitive location and the rescue team was waiting in a vehicle under scorching sun for the tiger. “The feline came to the bait laid in compartment no. 67 in the evening. Shooter Ajay Marathe shot the dart from the sunroof of the vehicle and the animal was sedated,” said vet Dr Ravikant Khobragade, who led the team.
Marathe secured his 32nd rescue of tiger with the perfect shot. “We were waiting for the tiger near the bait, but the big cat came from the other side. While the feline was still 25 metres from the bait, I shot the dart through the sunroof. The tiger was sedated within 15 minutes and was caged immediately,” Marathe told TOI.
The captured tiger was shifted to forest depot under Armori range. It is likely to be shifted to Gorewada Rescue Centre in Nagpur on Tuesday morning.