Bengaluru: A tigress was trapped Thursday by forest officials in Karnataka’s Gundlupet while operations were ongoing in other parts of Bandipur and Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple (BRT) ranges to catch other big cats spotted around the forest-bordering villages in these parts.
A tigress and four cubs were seen around Nanjedevapura village in Chamarajanagar, about 184 km from Bengaluru, according to the Karnataka government.
Operations to capture the big cats intensified after Forest Minister Eshwara Khandre held emergency meetings Wednesday after several such sightings were reported from other parts of southern Karnataka, including the recent case of a tiger attacking a farmer and his cattle at Negathur in Mysuru district.
Last month, safaris were halted in the Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserves after a farmer was killed in the Moleyuru range, Hediyala sub-division of Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
“There are multiple reasons why these tigers are straying into villages, including females moving to protect young cubs from other predators like leopards, wild dogs and other tigers,” a senior official from Bandipur Tiger Reserve said.
The winter months are peak mating season and the males often kill the cubs that are not their own to bring the female back into heat, officials and wildlife experts explained.
The growing striped cat population, loss of habitat due to encroachments and disturbance to its natural environment by heavy machinery and other equipment are some of the other reasons for the tigers to look beyond their cover for food and shelter, they added.
Wildlife straying into human habitation or vice-versa has led to increased Human-Animal Conflict (HAC) being reported across Karnataka, causing loss of life of people and wildlife.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) data show Karnataka has lost 14 tigers in the last one year, averaging more than one big cat casualty per month in 2025, indicating the rising problem of human-animal conflict in the southern state.
The last reported mortality, according to the NTCA, was in Kodagu district where a tiger died last week after being trapped in a snare.
Similarly, there have been 34 human deaths reported in Karnataka (till 30 November in just 2025 alone, taking the toll to 203 for the 2022-2025 period, according to government data.
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Unregulated development
Estimates by the Karnataka government show that out of the total 27,312 elephants in India, the state has the highest share at 22.14 percent, or 6,395 in absolute numbers.
Karnataka stands second in tiger population, accounting for 15.30 percent or 563 big cats of the total 3682 across India. Similarly, it ranks third in the share of leopards, accounting for 13.54 percent or 1,879 of the total 1,3874 in the country.
The growing number of wildlife and expanding human habitats, encroaching into forest reserves has also grown, resulting in higher instances of HAC, experts said.
In his reply to the legislature in the just concluded winter session, Khandre said that over 2,21 lakh acres of forest land has to be cleared of encroachments.
“All the wildlife corridors have been destroyed due to rampant construction of private ranches, resorts, home stays… where the animals used to move earlier,” wildlife activist Joseph Hoover, a former member of Karnataka State Board for Wildlife, told ThePrint.
He added that rapid and unregulated developments, increasing grasslands have led to clearing of natural hideouts for tigresses to keep cubs safe from other predators.
“With the tiger numbers increasing, mothers try to save young ones from marauding tigers. This is the mating season and there is a lot of movement. The mothers try to keep their cubs intact and move to the periphery of the forest,” he explained.
This increases chances of HAC, with tigers attacking cattle for food as well as resulting in deaths of humans. There are several instances of villagers taking matters into their own hands, sometimes laying snares or traps to kill wildlife.
In 2021, Appachu Ranjan, the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Madikeri, said on the floor of the House that the forest department should kill a maneater on the prowl or he should be given permission to do so. Another BJP MLA K.G. Bopaiah was also vocal about the growing incidents of human casualties.
There were 58 human fatalities due to HAC in 2022-23, 65 in 2023-24, 46 in 2024-25 and 34 in the current calendar year (till 30 November), Khandre informed the legislature in the just concluded winter session in Belagavi.
Between 2022 and 2025 (till 30 November), there were 32 deaths reported in Kodagu, 40 in Chamarajanagar, 19 in Hassan, 25 in Mysuru, 15 in Ramanagara and 18 in Chikmagalur, making up the majority of fatalities.
Overall, there were 709 human fatalities from 2011-12 to 2025-26 (November), with elephants accounting for 479 instances, tigers 39, leopards 41, crocodiles 32, wild boars 34, bears 40, and gaurs (Indian bison) 20 among others, according to government data accessed by ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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