Chennai: After 22 days of the massive search by the Tamilnadu Forest Department, the man-hunting Tiger T23 of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve was finally captured alive on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, two darts of tranquillisers were fired at the wild animal accused of killing four people, however, the tiger quickly plunged and escaped the darts.
Upon being informed about its location on Thursday, the officials said they and a medical team went to the Masinagudi-Theppakkadu Road and successfully hit the tranquiliser dart on the tiger at 10 pm. Yet, it gave them the slip.
Then, a group of 50 officials went to the spot, saw the animal in a bush at Kootupara and used another tranquiliser dart which reached home. After ensuring the tiger was unconscious, the officials said they caged it. The tiger has been taken to the rescue and rehabilitation centre in Mysuru for further treatment.
Earlier, the tiger’s entry into MTR complicated efforts, as spotting the tiger became difficult. The tiger managed to evade his captors for over two weeks, and was not spotted on of camera traps set in the operation area.