While the poor and illiterate residents of Kappachi village near Ooty rejoiced and danced on Wednesday night following the killing of the “man-eater” tiger by the team of forest officials, wild life activists, environmentalists and wild life specialists expressed shock over the incident.
A senior Indian Forest Service official who is a tiger conservation specialist and who is familiar with the Tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu told The Pioneer that the incident is yet another proof of the incompetency and unprofessionalism of the foresters in the region. “The one and only option available to the officials was to trap the animal either by tranquilising or trapping it in cages. They simply fired at the tiger in the darkness which resulted in its death,” said the official who did not want his name to be quoted. He also pointed out the forest officials could make out the gender of the animal only after it was killed. “All these days I heard them describing it as a tigress. After getting its body only they came to know that it was a male animal,” he said.
The last three weeks saw the animal killing three persons which antagonised the villagers. But the fact that all those who fell victims to the tiger had encroached into the tiger territory is conveniently being ignored by the people, according to Subbiah Bharatidasan, a wild life activist based in Doddebatta in Ootty. “This was a tragedy waiting to be happened. We have been trying to convince the residents in these villages to keep off the wild bushes and shrubs. But they do not listen to us. They enter the forest areas for picking wood as well as to attend nature’s call. Had they built toilets, they need not trespass into the tiger’s path,” said Bharatidasan.
Aadhan, a tribal who is working at the Partambikulam Tiger Reserve, said a probe should be ordered into how the tiger killed the three persons and how the tiger itself was killed by the forest officials. “The animal would have got frightened at the sight of the human beings. It might have got scared and jumped at the victims. The human beings should have been more careful about the movement of the animal in ther dwelling places,” said Aadhan, who himself has come across many tigers in Parambikulam reserve forests.
According to Dr TCR Nambiar, chief veterinary officer, Guruvayoor Devaswom, the incident shows the forest department is ill prepared to tranquilise wils animals. “It is not a big thing at all. They simply boast about their capabilities. But they are thoroughly incompetent in taming wild animals which is a pre -requisite expertise for all wild life experts,” said Dr Nambiar who had offered his services to the forest officials in tranquilising the tiger.
The animal was shot dead in pitch dark by a team of commandoes drawn from the Special Task Force of the Tamil Nadu police and some forest officials. “This itself shows what was the intention of the officials ,” said C S Kotteeswaran, a Chennai-v based wild life enthusiast.
Wednesday night’s killing of the tiger has all similarities with the colonisation of India by the Brirtishers, said Kovai Sadasivan, a naturalist based in Ooty.