A 3.5-year-old tigress, believed to have killed five villagers between May 14 and July 17 in different villages of Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, has been sent to the Kanpur zoo, where it will stay for the rest of its life.
After a week-long search, forest officials finally found the tigress in a sugarcane field using a thermal drone camera. She was tranquilized with two darts on the evening of July 24 and then kept under medical observation at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR). Thankfully, she was found to be physically healthy, with no injuries or deformities.
UP’s Chief Wildlife Warden, Anuradha Vemuri, said, “We can’t take the risk of another attack. The tigress has started roaming near villages and hiding in farms. That’s why she cannot be released back into the wild.”
Manish Singh, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of PTR, added that the tigress was seen several times by forest workers and villagers near a canal, outside the forest, close to the Mailani forest range and Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary. However, it is still unclear why this tigress, who was once not afraid of humans, turned into a man-eater.
Singh also explained that tigers usually attack people only by accident or if they can’t find wild animals to hunt. But in this case, the tigress seemed healthy and strong, making the attacks even more puzzling.
The tigress’s first two victims were farmers, attacked on May 14 and 18 in Nazirganj and Haripur Kishanpur villages. The third person was killed on July 17 in Bithra Mandaria. Two more deaths followed in nearby areas, which created fear and anger among the local villagers living near the tiger reserve.
Since the tigress had become a threat to human life, authorities decided the safest solution was to keep her in captivity at Kanpur zoo.
