Hunt for killer tiger in Karnataka reserve forest

 A massive hunt is underway in Bandipur reserve forest in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district to trap a tiger which killed two persons, including an octogenarian on Tuesday, a wildlife official said on Wednesday.

"We are on the hunt to locate and trap the killer tiger which mauled 80-year-old farmer Shivappa to death," state's Conservator of Forests T. Balachandra told IANS.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve is an 872 square km forest, located 219 km southwest of Bengaluru.

Shivappa is the second victim of the 4 to 6 year-old feline which turned a man-eater 2 months ago when it claimed its first victim, identified as Shivamadaiah, in the same area in mid-September when he was returning to his village with two bullocks from another village.

"Shortage of tranquilizers and veterinary doctors is hampering our efforts to sight and neutralize the tiger at the earliest and before it attacks a human than other wildlife animals," Balachandra said.

However, the affected people dwelling in the forest are not insisting on killing the tiger but capturing and relocating it in the wild.

The forest official also said that camera traps have shown forest guards and officials that the tiger was healthy and prowling around well. "Forest guards have been seeing pub marks daily of the elusive big cat, which is reported to have killed at least 14 cattle over the last 2 months," Balachandra added.
IANS