UDHAGAMANDALAM: Four cattle were killed by a suspected tiger at Kuruthukuli near Ooty in the Nilgiris in the last two days.Tiger and other wild animal movements have surged near Ooty in recent times. On Monday and Tuesday, four cattle driven out for grazing were ambushed and killed by a carnivore.Kuruthukuli villagers saw a tiger roaming close to residential quarters. Estate workers and villagers are terrified to step outside even during daytime.Locals have urged the forest department to intensify patrols, install camera traps and deploy cages immediately to capture the tiger. They have demanded fair compensation for the cattle owners.Environmentalists noted that drought conditions driven by the El Nino effect have hit the Nilgiris district. The resulting shortage of food and water inside core forests has forced herbivores like deer and wild cattle to migrate, driving predators like tigers and leopards into fringe areas in search of prey, where they target livestock.
