Shoot-At-Sight Order Against Tiger In Karnataka's Kodagu After Three Human Kills In Two Weeks

Karnataka Forest Minister Arvind Limbavali has said that he has issued a shoot-at-sight order to kill a tiger in Kodagu that has claimed four lives in the district recently.

Limbavali, while responding to BJP MLAs KG Bopaiah and Appachu Ranjan who demanded that the locals should be allowed to kill the tiger said that that the members (or locals) had no right to kill the animal.

¡°I have already directed the officials to take necessary action. I have ordered to shoot the animal,¡± he assured.

There have been at least four human deaths in the area in recent times, out of which three were in the past two weeks.

BCCL/ Representational Image

Several animals killed in tiger attacks

Several animals including cattle have also been killed in tiger attacks during the same period.

It is still unclear if the deaths were caused by one tiger or are there more big cats attacking humans in the area.

Limbavali had on Tuesday informed the Assembly that the Forest department had caught a tigress but another tiger was creating an atmosphere of fear in Virajpet and other areas in Kodagu.

However, according to locals, the authorities may have captured the wrong tiger and the man-eater is still out there.

BCCL/ Representational Image

They have been living in fear for nearly three weeks now after four people were killed in tiger attacks.

On Monday, an eight-year-old boy became the tiger's latest victim when he was attacked in Belluru village.

Karnataka: Kodagu tiger kills boy, shot at by forest staff | Mysuru News - (For Global Wildlife News, visit WildTrails News at https://t.co/88oCEpboVc) pic.twitter.com/VeKfrY5UYK

¡ª WildTrails - Ultimate Wildlife Holiday Experiences (@_WildTrails) March 9, 2021

What happened?

The incident took place when a 55-year-old labourer, Kencha, was carrying out sprinkler work at the estate accompanied by his grandson Ramaswamy. The tiger attacked the duo that left Ramaswamy dead and Kencha severely injured.

On February 20, two lives were lost in T Shettigeri and Kumturu villages of the district in tiger attacks.

The tiger which is believed to have strayed out of the Nagarhole Tiger reserve is still elusive and the failure to end its killing spree has angered the locals who say that they are not able to even step out due to fear of being attacked by the big cat.

Tiger menace in Kodagu has cost 4 lives. Kodagu has hundreds of gun license holders who are fully capable of dealing with this crisis. Yet, the forest department is prevaricating ? pic.twitter.com/o6JeaLz2zc

¡ª Brijesh Kalappa (@brijeshkalappa) March 8, 2021

It is believed that the suspected killer tiger was pushed out by another male, forcing it to look for another territory.

Nagarahole has seen an increase in the case of infights for territory due to the number of tigers there.

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It is the most densely populated tiger reserve in Karnataka, which is home to more than 125 adult tigers that are roaming in a 644 sq km protected area, which is 11.82 tigers for every 100 sq km range.

Environmentalists had long argued that at least some of the big cats should be translocated from Nagarahole to avoid such conflicts.