A tiger that had strayed near a human habitat in the Sunderbans, was on Monday morning driven back to the jungle that forest officials believe it came from.
The return of the big cat, a full-grown male, marked the end of a challenging operation, which began on Saturday after the villagers spotted pugmarks near Bhubaneswari village in Kultali block.
The tiger had taken shelter in a thick mangrove cover near the village. The patch is not a full-fledged forest but has wild boars inside and provides just the right cover for the tiger to stay hidden from human eyes.
A team of 200 men were involved in the operation. The patch of mangroves, called char in local parlance, was cordoned with nylon nets.
As the tiger was spotted, the cordon was narrowed. Three sides were covered and there was only one way to go, towards the Mani river. The tiger is suspected to have strayed from Ajmalmari forest, on the other side of the river.
A team of around 100 people were on the ground to drive the tiger away. They burst crackers to intimidate the big cat. Finally, they succeeded as the tiger ran towards the river.
“It crossed the river and entered Ajmamari forest around 10am,” said Milan Mandal, the divisional forest officer of South 24-Parganas.
A clip shared by Mandal shows the tiger swimming in the river towards Ajmalmaru forest. Crackers are seen being burst and men are heard shouting from one of the boats trailing the tiger. “Don’t move the boat so fast. If it turns back, you will have no time to do anything,” a male voice is heard saying.
The department had installed trap cages on the char after Sunday’s operation did not yield fruit. A team of tranquilisers was also on standby.