Villagers heave a sigh of relief as Bandipur tiger captured

Tiger which killed woman in Bandipur Nat'l Park captured after massive search op. 200+ personnel, thermal drone, 55 camera traps used. Identified as U-2371, 10 yrs old, male. Captured at 1.45am, shifted to Chamundi Animal Conservation Centre. DNA analysis to confirm. Combing ops continue for another tiger attack.

The tiger which had killed a woman at Balluruhundi close to Hediyala range of Bandipur National Park was darted and captured in the early hours of Tuesday, November 28, 2023.

A massive combing operation involving more than 200 forest department personnel and tribals from the local villages, was launched soon after Rathnamma was killed in the attack on Friday.

A thermal drone was also deployed to monitor the tiger’s movement while 55 camera traps were set to capture its image and ascertain the identity and the exercise yielded success within four days. Besides, three elephants – Rohit, Parthasarthy and Hiranya – were used for combing and reaching terrain not accessible by vehicles.

The tiger was identified as U-2371, a male which is about 10 years old based on the stripe pattern which was matched with the data base of tigers available with the forest department.

Ramesh Kumar, Director, Bandipur National Park said the tiger was darted at 1.45 a.m. and had come to devour a cattle kill at Ballurudhundi. The capture of the tiger initially proved to be tricky as it used to be sighted close to the village only to retreat into the jungles again. Besides, it was involved in two cattle kills in a span of 24 hours near Balluruhundi itself which was evident from the camera trap images, said Mr. Kumar.

Based on the tiger’s movements, the authorities set up cages close to the cattle kill and camouflaged it with vegetation while two veterinarians – Dr.Wasim Mirza and Dr.Pradeep – locked themselves inside and positioned to tranquilise it on Monday evening. But the tiger did not make its appearance and the authorities decided to wait till dawn and the two veterinarians stayed put in the cage.

Around 1.45 a.m. the tiger was sighted by the two veterinarians from their camouflaged cage and it was moving gingerly towards the site of the cattle kill and they fired the dart which found is mark. As soon as the tranquiliser had its affect the forest department personnel swooped around it, put it in a net and shifted the tiger to a cage.