NILGIRIS: A three-year-old male tiger that had reportedly killed more than 30 cattle over the past four months near Gudalur was finally trapped in a giant iron cage on Thursday, bringing relief to residents. The animal was later released safely into the Mudumalai forest.

The tiger had been hiding in private estates in the Devarsholai town panchayat area in Nilgiris and repeatedly attacked cattle, triggering protests from farmers. Acting on these concerns, Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra instructed teams led by Gudalur Forest Officer Venkatesh Prabhu to place iron cages at four locations, with meat used as bait. Around 40 camera traps were also installed to track the tiger’s movements.

Though the tiger was regularly captured on camera, it avoided all cages for several weeks. The Forest Department later brought in a larger cage from the Nilambur Forest Division in Kerala and set it up at Kottai Mattam. Despite this, the animal remained elusive and continued to kill cattle, including a cow belonging to a resident named Mani. Its carcass was then placed inside the giant cage as bait.

Around 5.30 am on Thursday, forest staff checking the cages found the tiger trapped inside a giant metal cage at Kottai Mattam. The animal reportedly displayed aggressive behaviour when it spotted the officials.

After being shifted from the giant cage into a smaller transport cage, the tiger was transported under police and forest protection and released safely into the Mudumalai forest.