Mysuru: Two days after a tiger had attacked a farmer in Badagalapura village bordering Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR), the villagers heaved a sigh of relief as foresters finally netted the big cat on Saturday.The rescued tigress, aged around three years, has been relocated to Bannerghatta National Park in Bengaluru. The rescue team darted the big cat with a tranquilliser around midday. Three elephants – Abhimanyu, Bhima, and Mahendra – were deployed for the rescue operation, along with 50 forest personnel. Using two drones, the rescue teams, which included veterinarians Dr Vaseem Mirza and Dr Ramesh, and sharpshooter Ranjan, successfully tranquillised and captured the tigress. Confirming to TOI that it is the same big cat that had attacked farmer Mahadevagowda on Thursday, BTR Director S Prabhakaran said the tigress had sustained an injury to its right forelimb before it was captured. Rescue personnel matched the stripes of the captured tigress with earlier footage recorded through drone cameras to ascertain its identity. Meanwhile, villagers claimed there could be another big cat prowling in the vicinity, which has been troubling them for the last few days. Sources claimed that since the big cat was injured, it made the border areas its home to target easy prey. For the past week, the tigress triggered panic among villagers in Badagalapura, Hadanuru, and surrounding areas. Following the grievous attack on farmer Mahadevagowda, the villagers pressed for the big cat’s capture at the earliest, prompting the forest department to launch the rescue operation. Mahadevagowda Still Critical The condition of injured Mahadevagowda continues to be critical, according to Surgeon Dr Satish. Speaking to reporters, Dr Satish, who performed a surgery on Mahadevegowda, said several facial bones were fractured and had to be fixed through surgery. The patient is currently on ventilator support. “There is also damage to the brain, total loss of vision in the right eye, while the left eye has also suffered significant damage. Efforts are still on to save his left eye,” Dr Satish said.
