2 days ago
Tiger suspected to be behind latest attack at Ranthambore captured
Days after another person was killed in a tiger attack at the Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan's forest department has tranquilised the animal and moved it to the Kela Devi enclosure.
On June 9, Radheshyam Saini, a 60-year-old watchman of a Jain temple in the Ranthambore Fort was killed by a tiger at 4.30 am, when he had gone into the forest to attend nature's call. Bite marks were found on his neck, confirming the fatal encounter.
Radheyshyam's death has taken the tiger-related fatalities in the region to three in just two months, sparking widespread fear and unrest among local residents.
According to Chief Wildlife Warden Shikha Mehra, the tiger is a male aged about 20 months.
'He was tranquilised in the evening and moved to the Kela Devi enclosure. When we captured the tiger, he showed aggression towards the forest staff. His genetic samples will be sent to the lab to make sure that this was the tiger that had attacked Radheshyam Saini. We will keep him under observation until the reports come in,' Mehra told The Indian Express.
This comes a month after officials had tranquilised a young tigress named Kankati, who was believed to have been behind two killings, the forest ranger Devendra Chaudhary on May 11 and a 7-year-old child on April 16.
The increasing incidents of tiger attacks have caused panic and tensions, with the latest incident leading irate locals to block the Sawai Madhopur–Kundera road and accuse the forest department of negligence. The tensions escalated into a confrontation between the protesters and the police, with the latter demanding adequate compensation.
