Tiger that killed two people in O’Valley in Gudalur captured after 29 days of manhunt

The captured tiger was taken from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve to Vandalur. | Photo credit: M. Sathyamoorthy

After a 29-day effort involving significant manpower, kumki elephants, drone cameras and 14 strategically placed cages around Gudalur, the tiger believed to have killed two people at Lauriston in O’Valley, Gudalur, was trapped in one of the cages located near Silver Cloud Estate on Friday (September 1, 2026).

It was taken to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), where forest department officials verified that the animal they had captured was in fact the animal that killed two persons in a span of two weeks in O’Valley in August.

P. Devaraj, Divisional Forest Officer, Gudalur, said the male tiger was probably around 12 years old and had worn fangs that hampered its ability to hunt wild prey, potentially leading it to hunt humans to survive.

The forest department verified that the tiger that killed the two persons was the same one captured on Friday by comparing dung samples from the site of the first human death with those obtained later and with human hair remains as well as samples taken from the same animal after its capture.

The tiger has been taken to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur, Chennai, where it is expected to live out the rest of its life in captivity, officials said. They are expected to reach Vandalur early on Saturday, zoo officials said.

The operation involved field staff from Gudalur and Nilgiris forest divisions as well as joint efforts with the MTR to track the animal, which eluded camera traps and tracking teams despite intensive search operations in all the three territorial forest divisions.

90 forest department personnel are said to have been involved in the operation, including Divisional Forest Officers, Deputy Director of MTR, Assistant Conservators of Forests, Rapid Response Team personnel, Anti-Deprecation Squad, Anti-Poaching Rangers, Forest Elite Force personnel and tiger trackers from MTR and Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve.

Unlike previous operations where the animal continued to have negative interactions with humans while the search was underway, this operation was successful in ensuring the safety of local residents and their livestock with no negative interactions.

Published – 18 Sep 2026 15:13 IST