Gudalur villagers urge Forest Dept to capture prowling tiger

COIMBATORE: Villagers in Gudalur in The Nilgiris have urged the Forest Department to capture a tiger prowling in their neighbourhood. They came up with the demand after a few farmers from Kallancheri village spotted a tiger preying on a goat on Wednesday evening.

Forest Department staff said Ramachandran, a farmer from the village had left his cattle for grazing in the neighbourhood. On hearing some unusual noise, Ramachandran along with few others rushed to the spot and found a tiger mauling one of his goats.

The tiger, which appeared fragile, had soon retreated into the forest area on sensing human presence. On receiving information, the Forest Department personnel arrived and fixed CCTVs to monitor the movement of the carnivore. They also assured to provide compensation for the loss incurred by the farmer.

Villagers said that it could be the same tiger, which attacked an Anti-Poaching Watcher (APW) a fortnight ago in Theppakadu forest area. On November 30, a tiger emerged from the bush and attacked the APW as he ventured out of his house to attend nature’s call.

In the wake of the Forest Department intensifying monitoring following the attack, the villagers believe that the tiger could have shifted its base to Kallancheri village. As the tiger became apparently weak, the animal has been attempting to prey on cattle unable to hunt down wild animals. Meanwhile, the Forest Department has asked villagers to be cautious and not step out unnecessarily after dark.