Wildlife officials trap a man-eater tiger in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow, Mar 14 (ANI): A man-eating tiger, which had claimed atleast five lives, creating panic in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur-Kheri district, was captured live on Friday.

The tranquilised tiger was brought to a zoo in Lucknow.

Officials said the tiger had peculiar traits and even used to eat carcasses.

"It is a man eater tiger which has taken five lives till now. Another peculiar thing about it is that it used to eat dead animals," said Renu Singh, director of Lucknow zoo.

Zoo officials decided not to set the animal free in the forests, fearing for the safety of people living on the outskirts of forests.

A team of veterinarians said the three-and-a-half years old big cat was in the pink of health.

It is believed to have strayed from Kisanpur sanctuary of the state's Dudhwa National Park.

India is home to half the world's surviving tigers, but conservationists say it is losing the battle to save them.

There were about 40,000 tigers in India a century ago.A count conducted in 2001 and 2002 suggested that number had allen to around 3,700, after decades of poaching and habitat destruction. (ANI)