Prowling tiger shot dead in Kerala, local residents relieved

Wayanad, Dec 2: A

, which had been on the prowl in some areas in the Wayanad district since the last couple of weeks, was killed, official sources said.

The presence of the tiger had terrorised people in Naikkatty, Kottamkara and Muthanga areas in the district. It had also killed a few domestic animals including a cow, officials said.

Despite combing operations by a special task force from Kerala and also expert team from Karnataka, the tiger was evading capture by moving places, despite all-out efforts made by forest officials and the people to trap it.

The tiger was spotted at 8.15 am at Thelapparmbu in Moolamkavu and the combing team fired tranquiliser at the tiger.

However, it fled the scene and later was found in a nearby coffee plantation.

Again it was given another shot of tranquiliser and was found dead.

A couple of weeks back, a 15-year-old tiger, which had stayed into Thirunelly and killed four cows, was trapped in a cage and later released into the forests on the Kerala-Karnataka border.

PTI