TIRUNELVELI: A three-year-old male sloth bear was trapped in a cage near Kalakkad in the Western Ghats on Thursday, by officials of the KalakkadMundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
The bear had strayed into a private farm at Karisalpatti village at Kalakkad in Tirunelveli district last month, and had been damaging mango, sapota and jack fruit. The farm is situated in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve.
A petition was submitted to the authorities to trap the bear.
The KalakkadMundanthurai Tiger Reserve officials visited the farm and reviewed the footmarks of the animal. They placed an iron cage at the farm on June 16 and monitored it regularly.
In the early hours of Thursday, when the bear came to the farm to eat the fruits, it was trapped inside the cage.
KMTR Deputy Directors Kanchana and K Muruganantham, and veterinary doctor Ravikumar arrived at the spot. After examining the animal, officials took it to the forest and released in the deep of the KalakkaduMundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
A big orchard located 10 km from the forest attracted wild animals, the officials said. Last Saturday, a bear was spotted in a farm at Ayankulam area near Moolakaraipatti. Forest department personnel, along with a tranquilising expert, attempted to catch the bear, but it attacked five persons, including an anti-poaching watcher, and escaped.
