Tiger remains elusive, dept to take help of Soligas

PCCF (Wildlife) Sanjay Mohan interacts with the officials during the combing operation to trap the tiger, at Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district.

The operation to trap the killer tiger in Gundlupet talk drew a blank on the third day on Friday also. The Forest department has decided to seek the help of Soligas who are adept in combing operations.

Additional cameras were installed at several places at Chowdahalli-Hundipura villages, on the periphery of the forest, to monitor the movement of the tiger. However, the tiger was not captured on any camera. Besides, the drone camera used by the department also did not capture any picture of the tiger.

Bandipur Project Tiger Director T Balachandra said the department has decided to bring five Soliga men from Biligiri Rangana Betta, to help them capture the tiger. More than 50 people, including veterinarians, department personnel, and six elephants were involved in the search for the tiger, based on the pug marks.

Meanwhile, department sources said that the tiger on the prowl was the one that was captured in the camera trap last year at Nagarahole forest, as the stripes were matching. The tiger must be healthy and not injured. It might be a male tiger, suspect the officials. PCCF (Wildlife) Sanjay Mohan visited the spot on Friday and interacted with the officials.