KATTAKADA: A tiger that escaped from the cage of Neyyar Safari Park has been captured after forest officers shot a tranquilizer. The tranquilizer was shot at by a special team led by Dr Arun Zacharia of the forest department. The nine-year-old tiger brought to Neyyar from Wayanad on Thursday escaped from the cage Saturday afternoon. The tiger broke the grills using its teeth and managed to escape without being noticed by the caretakers.

The tiger escaping the cage created panic in the surrounding areas of the dam. People were scared after the message circulated on social media. However, the people were relieved when the forest department explained that the tiger had not gone out of the park but was inside it. Fake news circulated in the social media late night also. There was a message that the tiger was spotted in an area kilometers away from the Neyyar dam. The police found it difficult to control the people who thronged for a glimpse of the tiger. The search conducted by the forest department and the police ended at 8.30 pm.

A team led by chief forest conservator Anjan Kumar, DFOs Pradeep Kumar, J R Anil, Neyyar dam range officer G Sandeep Kumar and forest department doctor Shiju stayed at Neyyar dam itself. A team led by forest department doctor reached Neyyar dam early Sunday morning.