Mysuru: Even a week after a farmer was killed in a wild animal attack, there have been no signs of a tiger in the area, according to officials of the BRT Tiger Reserve. However, search operations with the assistance of trained elephants and sniffer dogs are continuing.Following the death of Basavanna, a resident of Badagalapura village in Chamarajanagar taluk, in a wild animal attack on Sept 14, forest officials launched an intensive search operation. Despite extensive efforts, no evidence of the animal’s presence has been found so far.According to BRT Tiger Reserve director BS Sripathi, search operations were carried out from Sept 15 to 19, but yielded no clues about the wild animal.Camera traps and cages were installed near the site of the incident and in adjoining forest areas. They were monitored every morning, with updates submitted to senior officials. The forest areas around the incident site, along with nearby fallow lands and govt hill tracts in surrounding villages, were searched daily during both day and night using thermal drones, he said.The incident site, adjoining forest land, nearby fallow fields, and govt hill areas in surrounding villages were also combed with the help of a dog squad. Daily patrols were conducted in forests, canals, tanks, and stone quarries with the support of trained tribal personnel to detect pugmarks and other signs of the animal.Two elephants from the Dubare Elephant Camp were deployed to assist in tracing the animal responsible for the attack. However, no wild animal has been sighted so far. Forest officials said the search operation will continue as a precautionary measure.
