Kalpetta: Less than a day after an adult tiger attacked a forest official in Kerala, the animal was captured in the early hours of Sunday as the result of an extensive operation by wildlife officials. Locals residing in Anapanthi near Cheeyambam forest area in the Wayanad district heaved a sigh of relief with the capture of the big cat who had instilled fear amongst local residents.

Aged 13, the male tiger pounced at ranger Shajan on Sunday when the official along with other Forest and Wildlife Department officers were examining the possibility of a forest fire owing to the rise in mercury. At the time of the attack, other rangers incurred injuries in the process of fleeing the scene while Shajan suffered severe injuries as a result of the attack. He was rushed to the Kozhikode government medical college hospital where he is currently undergoing treatment.

Following the attack, a team of forest department officials installed two traps in the forest and managed to capture the tiger within 24 hours. The big cat suffered injuries to his one eye, left hand and one tooth, said District Forest Officer (DFO), Wayanad (South), P Renjithkumar. The DFO further added that after trapping the tiger around 5.30 am, officials shifted him to the Office of the Wayanad Wildlife division warden at Sulthan Bathery. A team of veterinary experts examined the animal after which he was shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram zoo on Monday evening.

Locals believe that this the captured animal is the same tiger who was spotted in Cheeyambam, Anapanthi, and Vandi Kadavu areas in South Wayanad Forest division in the past few weeks. The big cat, they claim, attacked several domestic animals and instilled fear among the locals inhabiting the Wayanad district. The top brass of the forest department in Kerala is mulling over a proposal to start a safari park to rehabilitate captured animals.