Kolkata: The Royal Bengal Tiger that entered human habitat in Maipith in South 24-Parganas and attacked a villager on Monday was trapped on Tuesday wee hours and released in Sunderban Tiger Reserve (STR) area in the late afternoon.
The tiger, post the sudden attack on Ganesh Shyamal, attached with the quick response team (QRT) of the Forest department, entered a bushy mustard field. The QRT placed a three layer net to cordon the area and restrict the big cat to an enclosed area with the plan of either capturing or tranquilising it.
“We had placed two trap cages and used bait. It yielded results. Once the adult male tiger was trapped, our veterinarian examined it and found its health parameters were alright. The tiger ate the food offered. We didn’t waste time to release the tiger in the wild,” said Nilanjan Mallick, director of Sunderban Biosphere Reserve.
Mallick said that the local forest staff feels it was the same tiger that has been straying into human habitat frequently in the recent past. Earlier, the forest officials successfully drove it back to the forest without any harm to villagers and forest personnel. “We released him at a far off place under STR this time, ensuring it doesn’t return here,” said a Forest official.
Foresters believe that the tiger may have been straying into human habitat due to certain challenges prevailing in its natural territory. An adult male tiger usually needs a bigger area.
Shyamal, presently undergoing treatment at SSKM hospital, is stable.