Chennai, Jun 21 (IANS): When the carcass of a cow was found near the forest area at Talavadi on Monday, the locals alerted forest department officials of Jerahalli Forest Range under the Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) who identified the pug marks of the tiger near the spot.

Notably, this is the fifth cow that was reported killed in the Talavadi area in the past 22 days. Forest department officials said that while four of the cows were killed by a tiger, one was killed by a leopard.

Camera traps are placed to track the movement of the animal and a decision has been taken to place a cage trap to catch the tiger which remained elusive.

Talavadi Farmers Association leaders told forest officials to follow the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) standard operating procedures while dealing with strayed wild carnivores.

The farmers association leaders said that scientific monitoring of wild animals and checking prey availability inside forest areas is important.

R. Chenthamarakshan, a farmer in the Talavadi forest area, told IANS that the forest department must take immediate action to catch the tiger which has been killing domestic cows in a frequent manner.