Tiger found dead inside cardamom plantation in Idukki

PEERUMEDU: A five-year-old female tiger was found dead in a cardamom grove in Rajamudi Estate near Gramby on Thursday. The tiger was found lying in the grove by plantation workers who had arrived on Thursday morning to spray the cardamom plants. The workers ran to the nearby road in fear, mistaking the beast to be alive.

The commotion did not make the tiger leave the spot, and as per the information received from the forest department, officials from the Erumeli Range Forest Office reached the spot inspected it and confirmed that it was dead. Then Kumily Forest Veterinarian Dr. Anuraj reached the spot and examined the tiger. Erumeli Range Forest officials prepared an inquest and shifted the tiger's body to Thekkady. The cause of death will be clear only after the postmortem.

Locals have reported sighting the tiger in the area for the past week. No complaint was reached from the area about the tigers killing domestic pets including goats.

In late March, the tiger, which had descended into a residential area near Gramby School and terrorized the locals for fifteen days, was shot dead by forest officials. The tiger's carcass was found a few kilometres away from here. Gramby is an area adjacent to the Periyar Tiger Reserve.