Tiger on prowl near Lucknow finally trapped

Lucknow, April 25 (IANS) A tiger, which was on the prowl for nearly three months on the outskirts of the state capital, was finally caught Wednesday, said a forest department official.

The tiger, which was first spotted in a village near the state capital on January 9, had earned the epithet 'Badshaah' from people, for eluding traps for 108 days despite several concerted attempts by the forest department to catch it.

"The forest department pursued the tiger for 108 days and finally it has been caught today. Thankfully, it did not attack people during this time," District Forest Officer (Avadh) Ashok Mishra told IANS.

During its free run, the big cat devoured over two dozen animals put as bait, and terrorised people in villages of Basti Dhaneva, Hafiz Kheda, Rahmat Nagar, Ulrapur and Meethenagar close to the capital city, Mishra said.

During one of the most taxing wildlife pursuits undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh forest department in recent times, over two dozen experts were brought in from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi to cage the big cat, according to the official.

However, the tiger proved elusive, prompting Minister of State for Forests and Wildlife Shiv Pratap Yadav to fix a 15-day deadline for officials to catch it.

Finally, the tiger was tranquilised in the Rehman Kheda jungle while it was feeding on a buffalo put as bait. "The tiger was trapped in an iron cage and sent to Lakhimpur Kheri where it will be released in the wild," Mishra said.