This happened after a forest guard was killed in a tiger attack last week and its half eaten torso and limbs were found near Hardia forest camp in Tala range of the reserve. Earlier two persons were killed but their bodies were not preyed upon by the big cats.
The two brother sub-adult tigers branded as “man-eaters" and sent to the zoo are aged about two years five months. They were born to a tigress named “Mirchahani" in the reserve in 2009. Generally, tigress keeps her cubs with her for one and a half years, after which they are left to fend for themselves. These cubs too were learning to hunt, sources said.
Justifying his action, Field Director CK Patil said it was a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. “Had the two sub-adults tigers not been sent to zoo, they could have been killed by the local villagers," he said. Read the full report here.
Source: Moushumi Basu, The Pioneer, New Delhi.
