CHENNAI:
For more than 36 hours they held their breath, combing through the
thick vegetation of the tiger enclosure at the Arignar Anna Zoological
Park in Vandalur. And, around 5.30pm on Saturday, they sighed in relief
on spotting those unmistakable stripes. Nethra, the Bengal tiger that
had gone 'missing' since Friday morning after a portion of an outer wall
had collapsed the previous night's rain, was found.
Zoo officials said a 10-member team of forest guards and veterinarians, which had been looking for three-year-old Nethra on foot, saw her in the enclosure. They had planned to tranquilize the big cat if found outside the enclosure, and take her to the cage. Now it was not needed, said AAZP director KSSSBP Reddy.
Sources said that the zoo was not equipped to conduct an aerial search. Around 7am on Friday, forest officials noticed that a 30m portion of the seven-metre high wall of the enclosure for five Bengal tigers had collapsed. The wall was built in 1982 hen the zoo was being established.
Vidya, Padma, Aarthi and Uthra, the other inhabitants of the enclosure were in their night shelter, but Nethra, who had been out in the yard, could not be located. Officials began to worry and placed thorny plants along the collapsed portion of the wall. The area was cordoned off and a search began for Nethra in and outside the enclosure.
The team that went into the enclosure carried tranquilizers and equipment to trap the big cat. Simultaneously, work on fencing a 100m stretch began. Officials placed a camera and fireworks along the stretch so they could spot and chase away the big cat if she tried to climb up the debris of the wall. They were able to confirm Nethra was in the enclosure through some pug marks and scat, but officials could not spot her directly even after a day's search. "We found she had stepped out of the enclosure and gone back in through the pug marks. When an animal of prey is on the prowl, the herbivores make a ruckus. There was no such sign, much to our relief," said a senior official.
On Friday night, some beef was placed at a location where Nethra was usually seen. On Saturday morning, the beef was eaten and Nethra's pug marks were seen nearby. Officials were now certain the tiger was in the enclosure. But they continued the search as they wanted to tranquilize her. By now, fencing near the collapse site was complete.
Meanwhile, visitors to the zoo were disappointed as they were not allowed near the enclosure for Bengal tiger and Sambar deer. Parents of Tholkapian, 7, who was eager to see the tigers, told him that the big cats were sleeping. The weekend visitors came in usual numbers as most were unaware of the incident. "We didn't know it was closed for visitors because of the wall collapse and a tiger had been missing. We hope it is still inside the enclosure," said Saravanan, a visitor.
Zoo officials said a 10-member team of forest guards and veterinarians, which had been looking for three-year-old Nethra on foot, saw her in the enclosure. They had planned to tranquilize the big cat if found outside the enclosure, and take her to the cage. Now it was not needed, said AAZP director KSSSBP Reddy.
Sources said that the zoo was not equipped to conduct an aerial search. Around 7am on Friday, forest officials noticed that a 30m portion of the seven-metre high wall of the enclosure for five Bengal tigers had collapsed. The wall was built in 1982 hen the zoo was being established.
Vidya, Padma, Aarthi and Uthra, the other inhabitants of the enclosure were in their night shelter, but Nethra, who had been out in the yard, could not be located. Officials began to worry and placed thorny plants along the collapsed portion of the wall. The area was cordoned off and a search began for Nethra in and outside the enclosure.
The team that went into the enclosure carried tranquilizers and equipment to trap the big cat. Simultaneously, work on fencing a 100m stretch began. Officials placed a camera and fireworks along the stretch so they could spot and chase away the big cat if she tried to climb up the debris of the wall. They were able to confirm Nethra was in the enclosure through some pug marks and scat, but officials could not spot her directly even after a day's search. "We found she had stepped out of the enclosure and gone back in through the pug marks. When an animal of prey is on the prowl, the herbivores make a ruckus. There was no such sign, much to our relief," said a senior official.
On Friday night, some beef was placed at a location where Nethra was usually seen. On Saturday morning, the beef was eaten and Nethra's pug marks were seen nearby. Officials were now certain the tiger was in the enclosure. But they continued the search as they wanted to tranquilize her. By now, fencing near the collapse site was complete.
Meanwhile, visitors to the zoo were disappointed as they were not allowed near the enclosure for Bengal tiger and Sambar deer. Parents of Tholkapian, 7, who was eager to see the tigers, told him that the big cats were sleeping. The weekend visitors came in usual numbers as most were unaware of the incident. "We didn't know it was closed for visitors because of the wall collapse and a tiger had been missing. We hope it is still inside the enclosure," said Saravanan, a visitor.
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