19 human kills later, tigress will be tranquilised in Bareilly

BAREILLY: UP chief wildlife warden KP Dubey has given his formal nod to trap and tranquillise an elusive tigress that has caused terror among thousands of locals residing near the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and is believed to have killed 19 people till now, reports Kanwardeep Singh. The latest victim was a 14-year-old boy found dead on Thursday evening.
Believed to have killed 19 people till now, an elusive tigress will be trapped and tranquillised after unleashing terror among thousands of locals residing near Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.Its latest victim was a 14-year-old boy on Thursday evening.
UP chief wildlife warden KP Dubey has given his formal nod for the trap.
The warden's decision comes after uproar following the deaths of 19 people since 2020 in and around Singahi range. In most cases, the forest department had recovered pugmarks of a particular tigress.
On the "huge task", field director Sanjay Pathak told TOI, "We've installed 40 camera traps and the tigress will be tranquilised soon. Four teams with a veterinarian each have been deployed across locations. A Special Tiger Protection Force has been sent to the forest area to ensure that locals stay away. The operation will be carried out as per National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines."
Pathak said two recent incidents-one in which a temple priest was dragged and attacked, and the killing of the teenager-led to the suspicion that a "big cat has surely gone rogue".
Officials of WWF-India and Wildlife Trust of India are supporting the forest department. Senior veterinarians Dr Daksh Gangwar from Pilibhit and Brijendra Yadav from Lucknow have been roped in as well.