14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, a tiger residing in the forests close to the village of Nidugumba in Karnataka State, southwest India, accidentally got caught in a barbed wire fence which was intended to protect a coffee plantation from intruders, be they humans or animals.
After stumbling upon the big cat, whose left paw was entangled in the fence, the coffee planter and several other locals took immediate measures and called in both forest rangers and veterinarians.
At that time, their greatest concerns was that the tiger might end up severely injuring itself while struggling to break free from the fence, Newswise reports.
As specialists explain, whenever such animals feel that they find themselves in a dangerous or threatening situation, they become quite stressed and more often than not end up hurting themselves while trying to keep safe.
The forest rangers and the veterinarians who arrived at the spot tranquilized the tiger, which proved to be a female.
After being freed from the fence, the tigress was taken to the Mysore Zoo, where trained staff is to assess its injuries and its general health so as to determine whether or not it can be released back into the wild.
The World Conservation Society was pleased to hear that, rather than taking advantage of the situation this predator found itself in and kill the big cat, the villagers in this part of India saw fit to rescue the feline.
“WCS India applauds the village of Nidugumba for their exemplary restraint and positive conservation attitude, and compliments the staff and officers of the Karnataka Forest Department for their model handling of a situation that could easily have turned into a tragedy for the tiger as well as humans,” commented on this incident Dr. Ullas Karanth.
“Too often, in situations involving a large predator that is accidentally cornered in human-dominated landscapes, people can swiftly form mobs and attack the animal as well as impede forest officials handling the situation. This often ends tragically with the death of the big cat and sometimes injuries to people and forest staff,” he went on to add.