Injured tiger rescued after 5-hour operation

MYSURU: A tiger that was on the prowl near villages on the periphery of forests near Heggadadevana Kote in Mysuru was rescued after a five-hour-long operation on Thursday. The seven-year-old tiger has been shifted to the Mysuru zoo for treatment as its left hind limb was injured.
Officials were camping in the village after locals informed them about sighting the tiger five days ago.
Veterinarian Dr DN Nagaraj said the tiger may have been forced out of the forest due to its injury. It was in the buffer zone of Bandipura National Park and frequently killing cattle in villages on the fringes of the tiger reserve. After an attack on Monday, villagers informed forest officials about the big cat.
On Thursday, forest officials started combing areas near Yegganuru village after villagers said they saw it around 10 am. An hour later, they received information that the tiger had moved to Telugu Masalli village, around one km from Yegganuru. "We took time to go near the tiger which was darted with tranquilizer as we didn't know whether it was sleeping or fallen down due to the drug," said DCF (territorial) Karikalan. It took nearly five hours for them to rescue the big cat.
Second big cat in 3 months
DCF V Karikalan said this is the second tiger to be trapped outside the tiger reserve in the past three months. Both the tigers were injured. Previously, a tiger was rescued from near Sollepura bordering Nagarahole Tiger Sanctuary.