Chennai: The elusive tiger T23 once again managed to give a slip to Forest officials. And, this time, it did so even after receiving tranquiliser. ‘We have intensified our search and will catch it soon,’ said sources.
The Tamilnadu Forest Department has sped up its combing operations in the forest tracts of Gudalur, Masinagudi, and Singara areas after the hidden cameras spotted the T23 tiger which had remained elusive for almost two weeks.
Residents of villages surrounding Gudalur and Masinagudi forest areas have complained that the tiger had killed four human beings and 12 cattle heads and has remained elusive.
The T23 Tiger was under heavy search with the help of two Kumkis and hound dogs. Squads were brought to the spot from Kerala and Karnataka. Along with them, two teams from Tamilnadu were also in the location. Forest officials, Special Task Force, NGOs and other teams are present on the spot.
The Madras High Court, while passing interim orders on a PIL petition last week, praying for a direction to the Forest Department to ensure that the tiger is captured alive and no steps were taken to put it to sleep, or otherwise kill it, had asked the officials to ensure that the least number of persons entered the forest for its capture, while stressing the need to respect its right to roam free in the wild.