Tiger shot dead during tranquilising mission in Kerala’s Idukki

The injured big cat, which strayed from nearby forests into a tea estate and triggered panic among locals, suddenly charged at the forest officials, who fired tranquilizer shots at it, forcing the team to open fire for self-defense

Idukki: Forest officials on Monday shot dead a tiger in self-defence as it attacked them during a tranquilising mission in Vandiperiyar in this hill district of Kerala.

The injured big cat, which strayed from nearby forests, triggered panic among locals as it killed some domestic animals in Granby estate area in the recent days. Though the wildlife officials fired tranquiliser shots when it was spotted inside a tea estate in the morning, the tiger suddenly charged at them forcing the team to open fire for self-defense.

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A senior wildlife official later said the second tranquiliser shot was successfully fired but the animal suddenly turned aggresive and destroyed the helmet of a wildlife staff by hitting at it.

The tiger also tore the shield of one of the team members when it jumped towards them suddenly after getting the tranquiliser shot, he said.

“Our objective was to tranquilise the tiger and catch it alive. We went for the mission risking our own lives as it was spotted just near a house in the area in the morning. It killed a dog, two-three puppies and a cow calf,” he told the media.

“We fired the tranquiliser shot standing just 15 meters away from the animal. We took that risk as the tiger was found in an inhabited area. We had no option other than to shoot it to protect ourselves,” he added.

The dead tiger was over 10 years old and looked very week with injuries in one of its legs, department sources added. In the visuals telecast by television channels on Monday morning, it could be seen that wildlife personnel firing tranquiliser shots at the tiger and the animal jumping towards them.

Though a special team of wildlife personnel was all set to tranquilise the tiger on Sunday, the animal could not be traced. Authorities even used the service of sniffer dogs and drones to trace the animal.