Forest officials in Karnataka have lately had encounters with tigers, with one of the incidents resulting in the capture of two man-eating tigers in Nagarahole, and another involving the discovery of a tiger carcass in Tumakuru. In Kodagu, forest officials successfully captured two tigers responsible for attacking and killing three people in the span of one month. The capture operation involved the participation of over 150 persons including forest officials and several kumki elephants who scoured the forest to locate the injured tigers. The wild cats were darted and transported to a rehabilitation center in Koorgalli near Mysuru for further care.
One of the tigers had attacked and killed a tribal man and his grandson in Kutta, and another incident, a tiger killed a youth in Balle, Nagarahole. Speaking about the increase in the population of tigers in the area, BNN Murthy, Chief Conservator of Forests, Kodagu Circle told TNM that, “There has been an increase in the population of tigers to some extent due to the conservation efforts taken over the last decade." According to Murthy, younger tigers tend to look for new territory once they are weaned from their mothers, and as they are healthier and more robust than the older ones, the older tigers are pushed to the boundaries. “The two tigers recently captured in Kodagu are aged 11-12 years and are in the last stages of their lives. These older tigers sustained injuries while fighting, as they are territorial animals, and this led to their inability to hunt properly. Due to their inability to prey, they came into conflict with humans,” he said. Murthy also said that the tigers were close to human habitation and, as a result, resorted to preying on wild boars and cattle.
In Tumakuru, the discovery of a tiger carcass in a pipe on the bund of a tank near Chikkahedigehalli in Gubbi taluk has raised concerns among officials. According to the Hindu, the tiger was about 6-7 years old and seemed healthy with no visible injuries. A postmortem was conducted to determine the cause of death, and officials sent visceral samples for a detailed analysis. Local residents are surprised by the discovery of the carcass as there have been no tiger sightings in the area for several decades. The carcass suggests that the animal had wandered into the area, and officials are trying to understand why it did so.