Hyderabad: There were seven zoo guards and other zoo officials near the cage of the tiger when it jumped out.
The tiger, Kadamba, leaped out of the cage and walked towards its original enclosure, across a gate located about 10 metres away.
The gate leading to its original enclosure was open at that time and Kadamba quietly entered it even as the zoo personnel panicked and climbed the cage and nearby trees to save themselves.
Chief Wildlife Warden P.K. Sharma said, “Nobody expected the tiger to jump outside the cage.” He said the cage should have been bigger to prevent such an incident.
About half-an-hour after the tiger jumped from the cage, zoo staff gathered at the spot and Kadamba was tranquilised by zoo veterinarian Dr Syed Abdul. He said he was nervous while facing the tiger but nonetheless took aim and tranquilised it with a blowpipe. The tiger was then shifted to its night enclosure.
The tiger needed to be tranquilised as the gate to the night enclosure was closed. Another zoo official was armed with a tranquiliser gun as a stand-by in case Dr Abdul missed.
A video shot by one of those present showed a group of 15 to 20 people at the site, including 7 to 8 persons holding a box to trap the tiger. When the tiger jumped out of the cage, a visitor overheard the news on a walkie talkie carried by a guard and rumour spread like wildfire about the escape of the big cat.
Zoo officials immediately evacuated thousands of visitors by pressing electric vehicles into service. One of the drivers said, “While the electric vehicles are capable of handling 10 passengers we took as many as possible in the vehicle to transport them to the main gate. First preference was given to old people.”
None of the visitors or zoo officials was injured in the commotion.
