Indian officials on Sunday sentenced a tiger to 'Umr Kaid' for being 'too dangerous'. Blamed for killing three people, the tiger will now not be allowed to roam free.
The five-year-old male tiger traveled more than 500 kilometres from Maharashtra to Betul district in Madhya Pradesh in 2018.
"We gave it several chances to re-wild but it habitually went into human habitations," Madhya Pradesh's chief wildlife warden, S.K. Mandal, told AFP.
"The only option left was to put it in captivity to ensure both the tiger and humans are safe."
In December 2018, the tiger was trapped and held in captivity for two months, but eventually was allowed to roam between a tiger reserve and a national park.
However, according to officials, 'Vagabond' or 'Nomad' as named by the local media, the tiger used to attack cattles and hunt near human settlements repeatedly. To prevent putting the lives of humans in danger, the tiger was tranquilised and sent to a zoo in Bhopal on Saturday.
Officials stated the decision to capture the tiger was taken a few months ago, but the lockdown due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic only delayed the proces.
"It will take sometime for him to adjust to the new environment. We will be monitoring his behaviour," Bhopal's Van Vihar National Park director, Kamlika Mohanta, told AFP.
"As of now it will remain in solitary confinement. A decision to put it on display at the zoo or send it to a (fenced) safari will be taken later."
According to government's statistics, India's population of tigers has increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 2,967 in 2018. That makes India home to nearly 70 per cent of the world's tigers.
