Two more hurt before curtains

The forest staff,led by the TATR Field Director,had later managed to push the tigress inside the forest and had kept the tranquilisation plan ready for Saturday morning. However,the tigress returned to Satara village after midnight and injured 60-year old Laxman Kodape who had come out of his hut after the frenzied barking of the village dogs around 2.30 am. The ensuing commotion forced the tigress to retreat,only to head in the direction of another nearby village Masal. “A crowd gathered once again near the tigress sitting inside a thicket. Not learning a lesson from Vaidya’s misadventure,another Satara villager,Kashinath Kodape,tried to get closer to the animal. The tigress took a swipe injuring Kodape,” Thakre told The Sunday Express .

Meanwhile,a large police posse led by Additional SP S N Sonone arrived on the scene from Chandrapur to control the crowd even as Assistant Conservator of Forest Kishore Mishrikotkar managed to tranquilise the animal. The tigress was then put inside a cage after a check-up and was taken to the reserve. “Tomorrow,another senior veterinarian will check her and then it will be decided whether she has to be shifted to Nagpur’s Maharajbagh Zoo,” Thakre said.

NTCA seeks report

NAGPUR: Taking note of the news report on the tigress in The Indian Express ,the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has sought the constitution of a committee of two veterinary doctors and wildlife activist Kishore Rithe to give advice in the matter. “In case of physical deformity and incapacitation,the trapped animal may not be released back in the wild considering the risk of man-animal conflict in the area,” Member-Secretary Rajesh Gopal has said in a letter addressed to Maharashtra Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) A K Joshi.