The sighting of an adult tiger in human habitat areas at Adakkathode, Kelakam panchayat, in Kannur district, triggered panic among residents. Video footage of the tiger had led the district administration to issue a prohibition order under Section 144 until Sunday evening.
The local people had reported sightings of the tiger and its pug marks in the area. However, it was confirmed with the surfaced video footage of the tiger straying into the backyard of a residence and roaming in a farm at Adakathode on Saturday.
Kannur Divisional Forest Officer Vysak Sasikumar said although the tiger’s presence was first reported on March 10, the efforts to track the animal using camera traps failed.
“The presence of only a few tigers have been reported in the Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, which borders Karnataka forest. It is possible that the tiger ventured into the region from neighbouring forest,” he added.
A committee was formed in accordance with the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Given the repeated sightings of the tiger in human habitats, the committee has decided to capture the animal. A cage has been set up in the area, where the tiger was sighted most frequently, and a team has been deployed by the Forest department to monitor its movements closely.
