Forest department officials in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district have escalated their efforts to locate and capture four tiger cubs, a day after successfully apprehending their mother. The eight-year-old tigress had been terrorising villages around Nanjadevanpura for over 20 days, attacking and killing livestock.
Operation Shifts Focus to Missing Cubs
While the capture of the elusive tigress on Friday brought initial relief to the residents of Nanjadevanpura and Veeranapura Lake surroundings, anxiety persists. The four cubs of the tigress were not sighted in the area during the operation to capture their mother. This has left villagers living in continued fear.
The forest department has now placed the captured mother tigress, along with the carcass of cattle and additional meat as bait, inside a cage near Veerapura Lake village. The strategy is to use the mother as a lure to attract the cubs, hoping they will enter the cage to reunite with her or feed on the bait.
Heightened Precautions for Villagers
As the search continues, authorities have issued strict safety advisories to the local population. BS Sripathy, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) for the BRT Tiger Reserve, has instructed villagers to remain indoors during night hours. Those who must venture out to agricultural fields at night are advised to carry torch lights.
Residents have also been asked to avoid grouping together and to remain calm to prevent any accidental provocation or panic. The department is closely monitoring the situation through regular analysis of camera trap footage placed in the surrounding forests.
Ongoing Vigilance and Strategy
In a statement to the media, DCF BS Sripathi confirmed the ongoing operation. "The forest department continued the operation to nab the 4 cubs of the tigress after placing the mother tigress along with a meat bait in a cage," he said. The combination of the mother's presence and food is considered a critical tactic to safely secure the young tigers.
The situation underscores the delicate balance between wildlife conservation and human safety in regions bordering tiger habitats. The forest department's priority is to ensure the safe capture of the cubs to eliminate the threat to livestock and people while keeping the tiger family intact for potential rehabilitation.
