Dearth of facilities to keep captured tigers puts wildlife managers in Wayanad in a fix
The dearth of facilities to rehabilitate captured tigers is a major concern for wildlife managers in Wayanad, home to more than half the number of tigers in Kerala.
Tholpetty 17, a resident male tiger of the landscape, was captured on June 23 from a settlement at Kenichira under the Chethalayath forest range of the South Wayanad Forest Division after it reportedly killed four heads of cattle in the area.
The animal had sustained injuries reportedly in a territorial fight with another tiger and its hind leg was also fractured. It had also lost three canine teeth, which may have forced it to prey on domestic animals.
Usually, tigers would be shifted to the animal hospice and palliative care unit for big cats at Pachadi, near Sulthan Bathery. But the tiger was moved to the nearby forest station at Irulam this time since the hospice had already been occupied.
It could accommodate four animals at a time, but all the slots had been occupied with tigers captured a few months ago.
The unit was envisaged to treat aged, injured or sick animals after capturing them from the wild. They would be either rehabilitated in zoos or released to the wild after treatment, depending on the health condition.
Five cells and two squeeze cages to treat the animals are at the unit. As many as seven tigers (captured from 2022 to 2024) are at the unit now.
Officials had planned to move the animal to the Lion Safari Park at Neyyar in Thiruvananthapuram but the dearth of medical care facilities there had stalled the move.
“Now, we are awaiting the final approval of the Chief Wildlife Warden to shift it to the Zoological Park in Thiruvananthapuram since two slots are vacant there,” sources said.
The delay in shifting the animal is a major concern since the animal needs further treatment. As the animal’s injuries are yet to heal, the small cage it has been kept for the past 14 days needs to be cleaned every day.
As many as four tigers have been captured in the district this year. The Forest department’s proposal for one more palliative care unit for captured big cats or to expand the existing one is to get approval, the sources said.
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