Chennai: The Madras high court on Tuesday asked the forest department not to kill the elusive ‘man-eater’ tiger, on the prowl in Ooty, immediately. The state government, in its response, said it has no plans to kill the animal, but only capture it. Forest teams supported by STF members and drones have been on the trail of the tiger named ‘T23’ which has killed four persons and livestock in the last 12 days.
Last week, principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden Dr Shekhar Kumar Niraj had issued orders to ‘hunt down’ the tiger in Nilgiris district.
Meanwhile, a petition was filed in the Madras high court challenging the hunting order and Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee hearing the plea on Tuesday asked the forest department not to kill the tiger immediately. “It may not be a man-eater tiger. There are only a few tigers left in the country,” the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu said.
The court told the principal chief conservator of forests to ensure that the least number of persons intrude into the forest, since the natural habitat gets destroyed when a large posse of humans enter any forest, while searching for the tiger.
"All that can be said at the moment is that the other animals in the area should not be disturbed to the extent avoidable for the purpose of tracking down this animal, though some discreet measures may be used for such purpose with the object of ultimately treating the animal and respecting its right to remain wild and free to roam in the forest," the bench said.
The government pleader filed an affidavit detailing the ground operation and the department's efforts to mitigate the man-animal conflict using non-lethal measures like tranquilizing and capturing the tiger. He also told the judges that there was no plan to kill the animal or maim it. Efforts were also being made to capture the animal alive and study its psychology and behaviour to assess future course of treatment, he added.
The bench also asked the forest department to file a status report when the court reopens after Dasara vacation on October 21.
