22-day operation ends as elusive tiger captured

Upon being informed about its location on Thursday, Forest Department officials said they and a medical team went to the Masinagudi-Theppakkadu Road and were tracking it. Though wildlife activists claimed that tranquilisers were shot in the night hours in violation, Forest officials denied this charge.

The Department resumed operations on Friday and spotted the animal near Masinagudi check post. Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj told the media that the animal was tranquilised with a single dart shot from an expert veterinarian from atop a kumki elephant. During the risky operation, one of the Department staffers was injured.