HD Kote (Mysore dist), Aug 27 (DHNS) : The man-eater of H D Kote is finally in the net. Members of the Special Task Force (STF), along with tamed jumbo Abhimanyu, on a mission to catch the wild cat since morning, were successful by Sunday evening. They caught the tiger at the same spot where it had mauled a woman to death on Saturday.
The STF began its combing operations, after they were alerted by the villagers that the tiger had been spotted at Chaakahalli at 10 am. They diverted their mission to Bommalapura haadi by 11 am, when they were informed that the tiger was spotted there. The STF team led by Harsha and Narayan and comprising 25 members continued its operations till 2.30 pm.
The cat was found 50 feet away from the spot where it had killed the woman. It was hiding behind thick bushes. When it saw the gun-toting duo of Harsha and Narayan advancing towards it, it pounced on them.
Harsha fired a shot in the air. Scared by the loud bang, the big cat fled. Harsha was saved in the nick of time.
The STF continued its search till 3.30 pm, which was joined by more members, including senior officials of the Forest department and veterinary doctors. For an hour, the tiger played truant. When it was finally spotted, it tried to attack Abhimanyu. The tiger terrorised the team members with its deadly roar and tried to pounce on the pachyderm.
It was then that veterinarian Dr Umashankar decided to tranquilise the wild cat.
Shooter Akram fired the tranquiliser shot at the seven-foot-long big cat, but missed it. However, he was on target the second time.
The team members then netted the tranquilised tiger and caged it. Another shot was given to reduce the effects of the tranquiliser.
Deputy Conservator of Forests Gaonkar said the big cat was shifted to the Chamarajendra zoo in Mysore. It was unable to hunt in the forest as it had suffered injuries on its right hind foot.
Hence, it was intruding into the villages and preying on the animals. The tiger had created a scare in Dasanapura, Kabbinagadde and Bommalapura haadi villages, he said.