The Hindu : Front Page : Big cat breathes its last

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 04, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Big cat breathes its last

M. Gunasekaran

The tiger when it was injured at Chinnar. — Photo: By Special Arrangement

POLLACHI: The tiger that attacked a mahout's assistant near the elephant rejuvenation camp in Chinnar in the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary on Tuesday morning died on Saturday.

The attack took place near the camp, 67 km from here. The assistant is in hospital with a fractured leg.

The next day, forest department personnel tracked the big cat, but it escaped when it heard them coming. The tiger had an injury in the right leg and was limping. Forest Depart personnel were reluctant to use a tranquilliser, as they were not sure whether the ageing beast could be revived.

Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, Rakesh C. Purwar, said he spotted the tiger from a distance of seven or ten metres. "It was flat on the ground. The tiger was old and ailing," he said. "It might have been injured while protecting its territory from another tiger, and strayed into the elephant camp in search of easy prey," Mr. Purwar said.

The attack on the mahout's assistant was the first one in the 50-year history of the sanctuary. Tigers did not attack humans unless they were old or injured, he said. According to a survey conducted last year, the 958-sq km sanctuary in the Anamalai range has 20 tigers and 600 elephants. The Tamil Nadu Forest Department's proposal to declare the sanctuary a tiger reserve has been cleared by the Project Tiger Steering Committee, and is pending with the Planning Commission.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section