Thursday, February 12, 2009

Runaway tiger from Corbett finally caught

NEW DELHI: The tiger, which strayed from Corbett park and killed a woman, has finally been caught by Uttarakhand Forest officials.

The big cat, which was recently declared a man-eater, was tranquilized with a gun and caged last night in forests of Faizabad, an official in the rescue team said.

It will be initially rehabilitated at Nanital Zoo and the next course of action will depend on its behaviour.

After the animal was declared man-eater, the officials had prohibited the entry of humans in the forest and a rescue team comprising wildlife experts, shooters and veterinarians had been camping there to tranquilize and cage the tiger.

The big cat had strayed into Dhikuli village from the Park a month ago and last week killed a 50-year-old woman. It later attacked two motorcycle-borne youth.

Following pressure from the villagers, the officials had declared the striped animal a man-eater, a decision which, however, did not go down well with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

The Authority had asked the officials to declare it a man-eater only after scientifically establishing the animal's behaviour.

Pointing out the difference in the guidelines under the NTCA to deal between a 'man-killer' and 'man-eater', the official observed that "a tiger can only be called a man-eater if it regularly kills humans."

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Flora__Fauna/Runaway_tiger_from_Corbett_finally_caught/articleshow/4112855.cms

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