Wayanad: A five-year-old female man-eater tiger, that created panic for the past three days at Pancharakolli and nearby areas of Mananthavady, was found dead in a habitat area at Moonamroad in Pilakavu, on Monday.
The tiger had killed a tribal woman Radha on January 24 and later attacked a Forest beat officer Jayasurya during search operations at the Tharat area on Sunday.
After the post-mortem, Kerala Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) Pramod G Krishnan told news persons, that the tigress died due to four deep wounds on its neck it suffered during a fight with another tiger on Sunday at interior forests along with the old injuries.
No metallic parts were recovered from the carcass and the tigress was proved as a man-eater after dress materials of Radha, few hair, and earrings were recovered from its stomach.
The carcass will be cremated at Kuppadi Wildlife Sanctuary as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority protocols. The patrolling of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) will continue for a few more days at Wayanad apprehending the presence of other wild animals at various places.
Chief Forest Conservator (Northern Region) KS Deepa said the carcass of the tigress was found by RRT squad members from a plot of George of Pilakavu outside the forest area, just ten meters behind George's house.
He identified the carcass as the same tiger that killed Radha according to the marks pointed out from the visuals captured by cameras.
CWW Pramod G Krishnan officially declared the tiger a man-eater and issued a shoot-at-sight order after it attacked Mananthavady Forest Officer Jayasurya, who suffered injuries on his right hand and escaped from the attacks by using his shield and was admitted to Medical College hospital at Mananthavady.
Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendharan visited the house of Radha(47), a close relative of Indian woman cricketer Minnu Mani, on Sunday to console the family and handed over the temporary job appointment letter to the son of Radha wife of Appachan, a temporary watcher of Forest Department.
Rs Five lakhs initial compensation was given by the Forest officials on January 24 itself and the remaining six lakhs will be handed over soon.
The people of Pancharakolly and Radha family said the death of the man-eater tiger was a great relief to the people and they marked their happiness by bursting crackers and distributing sweets to the Forest Personnel.
