Two tigers kill six cattle in Nilgiris
UDHAGAMANDALAM: Two tigers have killed six cattle in the Gudalur forest division in the Nilgiris in the last 12 days. According to forest officials, one tiger was responsible for the deaths of five cattle in Padanthurai area while another tiger killed a cow in the foothills of the Needle Rock, approximately 3 km away from Padanthurai.
Five cattle were killed in an unmaintained tea garden in Devarshola in Padanthurai area. "The five incidents occurred on different days but consecutively over the past ten days," said district forest officer for the Gudalur division Venkatesh Prabhu.
"The most recent incident took place two days ago in the foothills of the Needle Rock. In this case, a cow was also killed by a tiger," he added.
The forest department has mapped the locations of the first five incidents in Padanthurai and has installed a camera trap.
A tiger was captured on camera during this monitoring. "In the latest incident in the Needle Rock area, the size of the tiger's pugmarks indicates that it is a sub-adult. This area, which is very close to the reserve forest, is known for frequent tiger movements," Prabhu said.
Forest officers, who are concerned about the increasing number of cattle deaths, have sent a letter to the chief wildlife warden of Tamil Nadu and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), requesting permission to form a technical committee for further action.
"We have written to the chief wildlife warden and NTCA to establish a technical guidance committee to monitor tiger movements in the affected areas on a day-to-day basis.
A committee will be formed soon. Decisions will be made based on the committee's recommendations," added the district forest officer.
The technical guidance committee will consist of a nominee from the NTCA, a nominee from the chief wildlife warden and a representative of an NGO. The district forest officer will serve as the chairperson of the committee.
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