People celebrate as prowling tiger captured in K'taka

Bengaluru, Dec 20 The prowling tiger, which created panic in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, has been caught and shifted to the zoo by the forest authorities, authorities said on Tuesday.

The people of Ulavi village in Joida taluk were celebrating the development and praised the efforts of the forest department to trap the tiger.

Fear had gripped the entire region as the prowling tiger killed 10 cows and livestock in a week. Every day the tiger would come to the residential territory and attack livestock. It managed to kill one or two cows or calves every day and dragged them to the forest.

It attacked three cows in Chandrali, Henakola and two oxen in Mele areas. Authorities said that since the tiger was aged, it targeted cows and livestock kept in the barn attached to the houses.

Earlier, the locals had vented out their ire on the forest officials for not being able to catch the prowling tiger which could have turned into a man eater anytime. The people feared for their safety, especially for children and women. The people demanded the District in-charge minister Kota Srinivas Poojari and Congress legislator, senior politician R.V. Deshapande to solve their problem.

Deputy Conservator of Forests for the Kali Reserve Forest area Mario Christraja led the team and monitored the operations to catch the tiger. The big cat was finally trapped in the cage. Uluvi Gram Panchayat Vice President Manjunath Mokashi congratulated the forest officials for helping the people of the region.