A member of the Rapid Response Team, Jayasurya, was attacked by the man-eating tiger. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

A member of the Rapid Response Team, Jayasurya, was attacked by the man-eating tiger during an operation to capture it at Pancharakolly, near Mananthavady in Wayanad on Sunday (January 26, 2025) morning.

The operation followed the tragic incident on Friday when the same tiger mauled a tribal woman, Radha, to death while she was harvesting coffee cherries at the Priyadarshini Estate at Pancharakolly.

A senior forest official said that Jayasurya narrowly escaped serious injury, sustaining only minor wounds to his hand. He had used a protective shield when the tiger lunged at the team. Jayasurya was subsequently transported to the Government Medical College Hospital in Mananthavady for treatment.

Also Read | Tiger that mauled tribal woman to death in Wayanad to be shot and killed if capture fails, says Forest Minister

Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran confirmed the details of the encounter. Unconfirmed reports also indicated that another team member returned fire, potentially injuring the aggressive predator. Currently, eight specialised teams, each consisting of ten officials, are methodically combing the area to capture the dangerous tiger.

Meanwhile Mr. Saseendran is chairing a meeting of the district administration and forest officials at Kalpetta in view of the death of the coffee plantation worker and the threat posed by a tiger in the region.

At the same time, Divisional Forest Officer Martin Lowel was stopped as he tried to explain to the media the measures taken so far to capture the tiger by a police officer. The reason has not been revealed yet.