
Local farmers found a tiger and a dog trapped in a relatively cavernous trench in a cardamom plantation at Kadukkacity, near Nettithozu, in Vandanmedu Panchayath, along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in Idukki, on early Sunday (June 8, 2025). Photo credit: Special arrangement
Local farmers found a tiger and a dog trapped in a relatively cavernous trench in a cardamom plantation at Kadukkacity, near Nettithozu, in Vandanmedu Panchayath, along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in Idukki, on early Sunday (June 8, 2025).
According to Kottayam Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) N. Rajesh, the tiger may have chased the dog, causing both animals to accidentally plunge into the steep and circular trench used for composting plantation debris, primarily consisting of dried leaves and pruned undergrowth.
Snarling from the pit alerted residents and plantation workers, who in turn informed the Forest Department.
Forest officials said the shaft was approximately 15 feet deep, making it difficult for the tiger to scale.
Mr. Rajesh said the tiger seemed not to have harmed the dog yet, and both animals appeared unhurt.
A squad of armed forest enforcers, including experts in using tranquiliser guns, were en route to the spot to dart and sedate the predator.
Forest veterinarians would medically examine the tranquilised tiger for wounds, which possibly prompted it to stray into human habitation for easy prey.
Forest officials planned to capture and release the tiger deep inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR). They were also attempting to map how the predator, possibly from Tamil Nadu, arrived in the agrarian locality.
Local people said the area bordering Tamil Nadu was not considered a tiger habitat. Vast swathes of forests, speckled with farmlands and cardamom plantations, characterise the verdant region contiguous to Tamil Nadu.
The presence of the predator has caused considerable concern in the locality. Local people said plantation workers who venture out for work at dawn were particularly vulnerable to wildlife attacks.
Published – June 08, 2025 01:10 pm IST
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