Maharashtra: Man-eater tiger that killed 6 persons in Chandrapur forest circle captured

Representational Pic/File

A man-eater tiger that had killed six persons in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra in the last two months has been captured, the officials said on Tuesday, according to the PTI.

The PTI reported that the nine-year-old tiger has been caged and it has marked the successful culmination of a two-month-long operation to capture the elusive big cat on the prowl which had struck terror in villages, the officials said.

The tiger which had managed to throw foresters off his trail with his sharp animal instincts finally took the bait placed inside a cage on Monday night in the Karva-Ballarpur forest area, a senior official said on Tuesday, as per the PTI.

The man-eater tiger had killed four persons in the Central Chanda division and two others in the Chandrapur division in Maharashtra in the last two months, the official added.

"In view of the human-tiger conflict, villagers in the forest area were living in the atmosphere of terror, prompting the Forest Department to set up a team to capture the big cat," said Swetha Boddu, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Central Chanda division, the news agency reported on Tuesday.

She said that the operation to capture the tiger was going on continuously for the last two months.

"As the tiger was more cautious, it became difficult to capture him. The team initially faced a tough time, but with persistence and patience, the forest department succeeded in the operation by caging the tiger on Monday night in the Karva-Ballarpur forest area," said Swetha Boddu, the PTI reported.

The caging of the troublesome tiger before the start of the Tendu leaf collection season came as a huge relief for forest department personnel and villagers in the central Chanda division.

"Further action about the tiger will be taken on directions from senior officials," the DCF said as per the PTI.

Another official said troublesome tigers are generally shifted to a zoo in Nagpur and not released in the wild again.

Leopard roaming in Vasai captured

The male leopard, which was first sighted at the remains of an Indo-Portuguese fort on March 29 in Vasai and triggered panic among residents, has been caught by the joint efforts of the Maharashtra Forest department, wildlife NGOs and researchers last week.

The officials had installed multiple trap cameras to monitor the movement of the leopard, which initially survived on the stray dogs but, later, it is believed that the big cat was surviving on rodents that are found abundant in the fort.

(with PTI inputs)