Forest minister orders probe after darted tiger dies in Kannur

KANNUR: A tiger caught after being tranquilized in Kottiyoor has died. The tiger was captured from Panniyammala, a residential area near the reserve forest area. It is reported that the tiger died in Kozhikode last night on way to the zoo in Thrissur. The authorities clarified that the postmortem of the tiger will be conducted at Pookode in Wayanad.

The authorities were informed that the tiger would reach the zoo in Thrissur on Wednesday between 6 to 7 am. All arrangements were made for the treatment of the tiger by a team led by Thrissur Zoo superintendent. The tiger died while being transported to Thrissur. Meantime, Forest Minister A K Saseendran ordered a probe on the tiger's death. The chief wildlife warden is given the charge of the investigation and has directed to submit the report today itself.

The tiger was spotted by the laborers who had gone for rubber tapping yesterday morning on the road at Panniyammala tribal colony. The workers, who saw the tiger in the light of the torch, got scared and informed the locals. On being informed, the police and forest officials reached the spot.

The tiger's leg got trapped on the fencing wire in the farm. After six hours, the tiger was tranquilized, caught and caged. DFO P Karthik had given a written assurance to the people's representatives that the tiger would be taken to Thrissur. Following this, the tiger died while being taken to Thrissur at 8:30 pm in the night. While trying to escape from the fencing wire, the tiger sustained minor injuries on its leg.