The forest department continues its efforts to tranquilize the tiger in Kerala’s Vandiperiyar

The Kerala Forest Department continues its month-long effort to pacify a tiger that strayed into human habitations at Hillash near Arnakkal in Vandiperiyar.

According to officials, the Chief Wildlife Warden had recently issued an order against the big cat, which had been straying into populated areas for the past two-and-a-half months. A special Rapid Response Team (RRT) from Wayanad has arrived for the operation.

Chief Conservator of Forests DK Vinod Kumar said, “The animal is camping in the tea plantation area near the Ranni Reserve forest. It visits tea plantations in Hillash, Granby and Arnakkal areas at night, moves into the reserve forest and attacks cattle in the early hours of the morning. To drive the animal away, we need to locate it in daylight where the cats are moving.”

The official said the abandoned tea plantations in the area with dense undergrowth provide easy shelter for wildlife, including leopards and tigers. “The large number of cattle present in the Vandiperiyar tea plantation area provides easy prey for these animals. The overgrown tea plantations are the major obstacle that the forest department has to face in completing this operation,” he said.

Mr. Kumar said once it flies, the big cat will be moved to a zoo. “This animal was previously released in the forest but returned to human habitations. We will not conduct another such experiment,” the official said.

Kottayam Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Praful Agrawal said special officers of the RRT and forest department are keeping a close eye on the movement of the animal and expressed hope that it would be shot soon.

The tiger was initially captured from Munnar and released into the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) on April 2. However, the animal started venturing into human habitations in Thankamala near Vandiperiyar during the last week of April. The presence of the tiger has since been reported in Thankamala, Arnakkal, Granby and Hillash areas of Vandiperiyar, where it attacked numerous cattle and terrorized local plantation workers.

Published – 20 Jul 2026 20:16 IST