COIMBATORE: A tiger suspected of killing two persons in separate incidents in the ‘O’ Valley forest range of Gudalur was trapped in a cage on Friday, bringing to an end a 28-day search operation by the forest department.

The tiger was trapped in the early hours of Friday in a cage installed in the Silver Cloud forest area. The operation had been launched following the deaths of two villagers in separate tiger attacks on August 8 and August 21. In both incidents, the victims’ bodies were found partially consumed, prompting the forest department to mount an extensive search for the suspected animal.

As part of the operation, 14 cages fitted with bait were placed at strategic locations. The department also deployed 305 automatic and GSM-enabled camera traps to monitor the tiger’s movements and identify its movement patterns.

Several search teams carried out intensive ground-level surveillance across the Gudalur forest division and adjoining areas. The prolonged operation had also drawn criticism from local residents, who had raised concerns over the delay in locating and capturing the tiger following the two fatal attacks.

During the search, two leopards were captured in the traps and released in suitable dense forest habitats. Following the capture of the tiger, the forest department has begun the process of comparing its photographs with images recorded by the camera traps during the search operation to confirm whether the animal caught in the cage is the same tiger suspected in the two fatal attacks.