PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Ramnagar
The tiger- suspected to have killed two villagers in Tadam village under Salt block adjoining the Corbett Tiger Reserve in the past one and half months-was finally tranquilised and rescued late Monday night by a joint team of the Forest department and the Corbett administration. The question, however, remains whether this big cat is the same man-eater responsible for the deaths of two villagers.
The foresters said that the answer is expected to emerge from the DNA test report. They further said that the captured animal is a male, estimated to be around two-and-a-half years old. “It has been shifted to the Dhela rescue centre, where blood samples and health examinations are being conducted,” the senior wildlife veterinary officer of Corbett Park, Dr Dushyant Sharma said, adding that the tiger was tranquilised around two kilometres inside the forest from the site of the last incident.
He added that the adult male tiger appeared healthy during preliminary examination. “DNA and other samples of the tiger are being sent to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) laboratory for investigation. Only the DNA report will confirm whether this tiger was responsible for the deaths of the two villagers or if another wild animal was involved,” he added.
The first fatal feline attack occurred on March 31 when a 60-year-old villager Khim Singh was attacked and killed by a tiger. Nearly a month later, on May 3, a 50- year-old Mahipal Singh was attacked by a tiger in broad daylight while returning home with fodder collected from the forest, just a short distance from his residence.
As the terror of the tiger affected daily life with the closure of schools in the Tadam region, the Forest department temporarily closed the Mohan Safari Tourism Zone as a precautionary measure.
