Chennai, Oct 15 (IANS): The MDT23 tiger, which is believed to have been responsible for the killing of four humans and 12 heads of cattle, was captured by a Tamil Nadu Forest Department team after a massive search on for 22 days.

The tiger was tranquilised by Forest Department veterinarians on Friday after it was spotted along the Masinagudi-Thepakatu road, sources told IANS. There were reports that a tranquiliser dart was fired on the animal on Thursday night itself but the Forest Department staff lost track of it after that.

After state Chief Wildlife Warden, Shekar Kumar Neeraj, had ordered "hunting down" of the animal after people started protesting against its menace, animal rights group People for Cattle In India filed a PIL seeking that the tiger should not be killed but instead be captured, and the Madras High Court ordered the Forest Department to trap the animal.

The search for the tiger was conducted by six teams from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, aided by one team each from Kerala and Karnataka. Two kumki elephants and three sniffer dogs were also pressed into service.

People of Gudalur, Masinagudi, Singara, and Bopara area were under fear over the attack of the tiger after it turned to kill humans and cattle.