11-year-old male tiger rescued in Saragur

An 11-year-old male tiger, which had been creating panic among the people here, was rescued by the Forest department, in Saragur taluk, on Tuesday.

The tiger had turned into a nightmare for the residents of several villages in Saragur and H D Kote taluks.

The tiger, belonging to Bandipur Tiger Reserve, is said to have strayed out from the Gundre and N Begur range and had killed more than 15 domestic animals in the last two months. The department had even conducted a combing operation to trap the tiger, with the help of tamed elephants.

As the tiger was spotted on Tuesday afternoon, veterinarian Dr Nagaraj and staff were successful in darting the animal and captured it. Dr Nagaraj said that the tiger is healthy but has lost strength for hunting due to old age.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve director T Balachandra said, "More than 80 people, led by ACF Ravikumar, and supported by five elephants, were successful in rescuing the tiger. The animal has been shifted to Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Bannerghatta."