Jaipur, May 14 (PTI) A tigress suspected to be involved in two fatal attacks in the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve was tranquilised on Wednesday, a forest department official said.
Alarmed after the tigress 'Kankati' moved towards a hotel in the periphery of the forest area, the forest authorities decided to tranquillise her.
Kankati will be kept in an enclosure until a decision is made about her potential relocation.
On Sunday, ranger Devendra Chaudhary was fatally attacked while on duty in the Jogi Mahal area of Ranthambore National Park.
On April 16, a seven-year-old boy was mauled to death near the Trinetra Ganesh temple within the reserve.
It is suspected that in both the attacks, Kankati, the daughter of tigress Arrowhead, was involved.
Since Arrowhead was unable to hunt, the forest authorities used to offer bait to her and her cubs, including Kankati, near the Jogi Mahal area.
Experts believe that this repeated feeding, with food brought in vehicles, may have caused the cubs to lose their natural wariness of humans, which led to the fatal attacks.
Safaris are at present suspended in two out of the park's 10 zones and public access to the Trinetra Ganesh temple has been halted as a precaution. A forest department official said the action was prompted by safety concerns.
At around 8 am on Wednesday, the tigress was spotted near a hotel near the forest, attracting a crowd of local people. Alarmed over the potentially dangerous situation, the forest authorities decided to tranquilise her.
In the wake of the deadly attacks, the forest department on Tuesday constituted a five-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incidents. The officials are determining whether the attacks were isolated incidents or sign of a pattern indicating that the animal has become habituated to killing.
"The committee has been constituted as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority protocol," an official said on Wednesday.
On the tigress being tranquilised and shifted to an enclosure, wildlife expert Dinesh Durani said that before relocation, it is important to verify that the tiger captured is the animal responsible for the killings.
Durani said that if relocation is deemed necessary, only the animal proven to be involved in the attacks should be moved.
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve is home to 72 tigers, including both adults and cubs.
Once a private game reserve of the erstwhile royal house of Jaipur, Ranthambore National Park and Tiger Reserve is one of the world's best known wilderness areas.