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| India-Pakistan |
| Kheri man-eater captured, will be housed in Lucknow zoo |
| 2009-03-02 |
| Forest officials have tranquillised and captured the Lakhimpur Kheri man-eating tiger at Maharajnagar village in Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday evening even while another feline, a leopard, struck yet again in Tehri in neighbouring Uttarakhand, leaving its fourth victim, a seven-year-old girl, grievously injured on Saturday night. In Vigradi area of the Upper Yamuna Forest Division, another leopard was found dead, possibly due to wounds inflicted by poachers. Elsewhere in Uttarakhand, a man was arrested for killing a cheetal (spotted deer) at Kaladungi in Ramnagar Forest Division and then let go following payment of a compensation amount. The three-year-old Lakhimpur Kheri tiger will be transported to Lucknow Zoo and is expected to reach here late on Sunday or Monday. The captured tiger was tranquillised by Ajan Mazumdar of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). The tiger had triggered panic among villagers of Kheri, preying upon unsuspecting workers in sugarcane fields. During the last one-and-a-half month, the tiger had claimed more than six lives, dragging some of the victims out of their huts. Chief Wildlife Warden BK Patnaik confirmed that the tiger was tranquillised and captured. He said that there was no possibility of releasing the tiger. "This case will be seriously studied as the man-eater had claimed a number of lives. The tiger will, in all possibility, be kept in a zoo," Patnaik said. This is the second case of a tiger on the loose in the State in recent times that has now been resolved. The Faizabad stray tigress was earlier shot dead. The only stray tiger yet to be caught is that of Ghazipur where the animal is causing problems for local residents and has sparked panic in adjoining areas. Lakhimpur Kheri DFO KK Singh said that the tiger had come creeping to the bait before it was tranquillised and quickly captured. "As soon it was tranquillised, it was transferred into the cage. The tiger is possibly a three-year-old and has been very active in this region for quite some time," Singh said. In neighbouring Uttarakhand's Rangad village in Tehri region, Nainita, daughter of Surendra Singh, was picked by a man-eater leopard in front of her family members. She was carried for 25-20 metres from her house and abandoned with serious bite wounds on her hands, chin and neck when villagers intervened, shouting and pelting the animal with stones. Nainita was taken to Doon District Hospital in the state Capital for treatment. Anti-Poaching Cell director Paramjit Singh said a game hunter has been hired to shoot the big cat which has killed three villagers and injured as many in the past one-and-a-half months. Eventhough its man-eater status will be withdrawn if it is not shot down in the next 10-15 days, a senior forest officer informed that that the leopard in question may be declared "man-eater" again if the office of state chief wildlife warden thinks fit. In another incident it was confirmed that the leopard found dead at Vigradi area of Upper Yamuna Forest Division died out of injury to its neck. Forest officials believe that female leopard was injured following an attack by a poacher. A search to arrest him is on. According to the source, the dead female leopard was brought to Barkot with the help of villagers on Saturday and a postmortem was ordered by the DFO Upper Yamuna Forest Division. The neck injury was established as the cause of its death. Ramnagar Forest Division officials also arrested a man on Saturday for killing a cheetal (spotted deer) at Kaladungi. Poacher identified as Jeevan Singh killed the deer with the help of two dogs. Singh was spotted by three bird watchers who were passing through the area, Ravinder Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer of Ramnagar, said. He was identified and arrested by the forest officials on Saturday morning. However he was let off after paying Rs 55,000 as compensation to the forest department. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #2 Maybe we could arrange a loan to Gitmo? |
| Posted by: Cromert 2009-03-02 22:16 |
| #1 Who are they gonna feed it? |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-03-02 13:57 |