Special task force and a sniffer dog were engaged in the search on Saturday

UDHAGAMANDALAM: A sniffer dog and two drones were deployed on the eighth day of the operation on Saturday to capture the tiger that killed three people and 10 heads of cattle in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).

The tiger moved from Devarshola forest range in Gudalur division to Masinagudi area in the Nilgiris on Friday and killed a tribal man, the third victim.

Besides Nilgiris forest team and Wayanad forest team, as many as 25 special task force (STF) personnel and 25 rapid response team members joined the operation on Saturday, taking the total team strength to 130.

Adhavai, the eightmonth-old sniffer dog of Chippiparai breed from the Gudalur forest division, failed to spot the big cat on Saturday.

Principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden Shekar Kumar Niraj, who reached the Nilgiris on Saturday, said the male tiger is not a man-eater. “The tiger has been eyeing only cattle. While hunting cattle, it killed two people, but did not devour human flesh. It consumed a portion of the body of the third victim after starving for two days.”

“Besides drones, only tranquilizing guns are used by the front formation. Trained forest elite forces joined the teams at MTR,” said Niraj. “We did not rope in shooters as there is no plan to shoot the tiger. We plan to tranquilize the big cat and shift it to a cage. STF personnel were advised not to use guns. They are needed to support forest teams in planning, locating, navigating and logistics. Our infrastructure and means are meagre, but still the operation is being conducted efficiently.”

The operation will continue on Sunday, Niraj added.