It turned out to be a Sunday with a difference in Kerala’s Wayanad district as a crowd of more than thousand people staged a “road roko” carrying the carcasses of four cows which were allegedly killed by a tiger during the last four days.

Police and Forest Department officials rushed to the spot and disbursed the crowd through peaceful discussion. Owners of the cows were promised by the district authorities an initial solatium of `30,000 to the owners of the cows which were killed by the big tiger.

Wayanad, a high range district situated on the periphery of the Western Ghat forests, is no stranger to wild animals. Elephants, tigers, cheetahs, leopards and deers make frequent visits to the human settlements in search of food and water as the reserve forests are short of drinking water and food.

The big cats target domestic animals like cows, sheep and bulls while the elephants prefer to have banana plants, jackfruits and mangoes in addition to their favourite delicacy, bamboo plants.

The last few months saw a rogue tusker attacking the owner of a house which turned out to be fatal. Three persons have been killed in attacks by the wild animals. “We want this tiger to be shot dead so that our children can go to schools. There is no guarantee that the children and bread-earners of the family would return home because of this tiger,” said Annie, a housewife who lost one of her cows in the tiger attack.

The Wild Life Department in the district is seriously considering to tranquilise the tiger and shift to another zone. But the last six months saw the death of elephants and big cats which were tranquilised by the veterinary doctors which have been reported by The Pioneer. All human settlements near the forests in Kerala are a gift from the Governments that ruled the State from time to time and this has led to massive deforestation.

VK Bahuguna, author and former director general of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, told The Pioneer that this was an unfortunate development.

“I cannot blame the tiger or the elephants for this situation,” said Bahuguna.

The Forest Department should put a fence around the settlements to prevent the animals from trespassing into the houses, he said, adding that the same should be helpful in keeping the domestic animals from trespassing into the forests. It will not cost much to put fencing around the human settlements as the Forest department ad Wild Life Department have sufficient funds to spend on the same, said Bahuguna.

He pointed out that tigers, unlike leopards, are peace loving animals and will not attack human beings until they are provoked. “Moreover, the tigers do not have the capability to jump over a six-feet tall fence,” said Bahuguna.