After a tiger and a stray dog fell into an abandoned well in Kerala’s Idukki district on Sunday morning, both animals were shot with tranquiliser darts and rescued, the forest department said.
The incident occurred at a cardamom plantation at Myladumpara, in Idukki’s Vandanmedu, close to Kerala’s border with .
In the morning, residents heard a dog’s barking and found it trapped in the well along with the two-year-old male tiger.
Later in the afternoon, a veterinary team from the Periyar Tiger Reserve, led by R Anuraj, darted the tiger and the dog before bringing both out from the well.
Kottayam Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) M G Ajith said the tiger did not suffer any injury from the fall. “We suspect that the tiger has strayed into the human settlement from the Tamil Nadu forest. So far the villagers at Myladumpara had not reported about the presence of tigers,” he said, adding that it would be released to the Periyar Tiger reserve in Kerala.
The DFO said the tiger might have chased the stray dog and fell into the well. “While remaining trapped in the well, neither the tiger nor the dog attacked each other. We have had similar incidents when carnivorous animals and their prey got trapped. In such circumstances, these animals do not attempt to attack their prey,’’ he said.
Images aired on TV channels showed both animals lying in the pit close to each other.
The information about the incident was received around 7 am and forest personnel were immediately dispatched to the site, which lies between the Tamil Nadu forest reserve and the Periyar sanctuary, an official said.
The official also said that it was not an area where tigers were usually seen. —(With PTI input)
