The captured tiger is now undergoing treatment in isolation for a deep wound on its nose sustained either during a fight or during capture.
The tiger after its capture. (Supplied)
A 13-year-old tiger that was captured from Poothadi village in Kerala’s Wayanad district on Monday, 18 December, on the suspicion that it had killed a farmer 11 days ago, is now becoming a member of the newly-developed Thrissur Zoological Park at Puthoor.
Disregarding stringent demands from the local community that the captured “man-eater” must be killed, forest officials took the big cat to Thrissur late Monday night. The tiger was captured using a cage with a bite on Monday at 1:30 pm.
Park director R Keerthi told South First that the tiger was released into an isolation ward of the zoo on Tuesday morning and would be under observation.
Keerthi also stated that the tiger is being treated for a deep wound on his nose, which may have been sustained during a territorial conflict with another tiger or during the capture. The tiger will receive immediate veterinary care, she said.
According to local sources, the Forest Department pacified the agitating locals by promising permanent employment to one of the close relatives of the deceased farmer and assuring a recommendation to the state government that it would compensate the victim’s family with ₹50 lakh.
On Monday, the protesters raised slogans against the Forest Department and the government, and claimed that the same tiger — codenamed WWL-45 — had killed 36-year-old farmer M Prajeesh at Koodallur near Vakeri. Prajeesh’s partially eaten body was found on December 9.
WWL-45, a 13-year-old male, was included in the tiger census database.
The situation remained tense as forest officials clarified that the norms did not allow the killing of a captured animal.
Officials said that the tiger was trapped in one of the seven cages set up in the locality. The tiger had walked into the cage set up on a coffee plantation, close to where Prajeesh’s body was found.
Following Prajeesh’s death, an order was issued to kill the tiger if it could not be caught alive. The order was issued based on the demand of the residents, mostly farmers. The residents claimed that the tiger had been roaming the locality for a long time.
A 60-member team of experts had been combing the forests for the past 10 days. Kumki elephants Bharat and Vikram, too, were part of the search operations. Renowned wildlife veterinarian Dr Arun Zachariah, too, had joined the team.
The tiger was trapped on Monday after noon. Residents claimed the same tiger had attacked a cow after forcing itself into a cattle shed three days ago in the same locality.
Meanwhile, the Forest Department said that it was yet to confirm if the captured tiger was the one that had attacked Prajeesh. An analysis of photographs collected through camera traps would be required to establish its identity.
Earlier, experts said that a tiger could not be termed a man-eater based on a single instance.
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![[Left] File photo of BJP MLA Harish Poonja, who has been booked, and [right] Poonja sitting for a protest in front of Belthangady Police Station in the early hours of Sunday, 19 May, 2024.](https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media.thesouthfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Harish-Poonja-and-Belthangady.jpg "Harish Poonja and Belthangady")
