Forest department continues bid to tranquillise tiger in Vandiperiyar in Kerala

The Kerala Forest department is continuing its months-long effort to tranquillise a tiger that has been straying into human habitations at Hillash, near Arnakkal, in Vandiperiyar.

According to officials, the Chief Wildlife Warden recently issued a darting order for the big cat that has been straying into inhabited areas for the past two and a half months. A special Rapid Response Team (RRT) from Wayanad has arrived to be part of the operation.

Chief Conservator of Forests D.K. Vinod Kumar said: “the animal is camping in a tea plantation area close to the Ranni Reserve Forest. It frequents the tea plantations in the Hillash, Granby, and Arnakkal areas during the night, moves to the reserve forest, and attacks cattle in the early morning hours. To dart the animal, we need to locate it in daylight. The Forest department team is setting up tree houses in the area to track the big cat’s movements.”

The official said abandoned tea estates in the area with thick undergrowth provided easy cover for wildlife, including leopards and tigers. “The large number of cattle present in the Vandiperiyar tea plantation area provides easy prey for these animals. The overgrown tea plantations are the major hurdle faced by the Forest department in completing this operation,” he said.

Mr. Kumar said once darted, the big cat would be shifted to a zoo. “This animal was previously released into the forest but returned to human habitations. We will not conduct another such experiment,” the official said.

Kottayam Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Praful Agrawal said the special RRT and Forest department officials were closely monitoring the animal’s movements and expressed hope that it would be darted soon.

The tiger was initially captured from Munnar and released into the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) on April 2. However, the animal began venturing into human habitations in Thankamala, near Vandiperiyar, during the last week of April. The tiger’s presence has since been reported across the Thankamala, Arnakkal, Granby, and Hillash areas of Vandiperiyar, where it has attacked numerous cattle and terrorised local plantation workers.