Three tigers identified near site of attack on tribal woman in the Nilgiris

The forest department has identified three tigers which it suspects could have been responsible for the attack on an Adivasi woman at Mavanallah in the Nilgiris recently.

The woman, B. Nagi (70), was killed on November 24, 2025 when she was herding goats near the Mavanallah stream in the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR). Since her death, forest department officials have been combing through camera traps to identify the tiger.

According to officials, 36 camera traps have been placed close to and around the site of the attack. M.G. Ganesan, MTR Deputy Director, when contacted, told The Hindu three tigers have been identified in the area, but efforts to ascertain the animal responsible for the attack are ongoing.

“Of the three, two seem to be relatively young and healthy, while the third is older,” said Mr. Ganesan, who added that the forest department was comparing images of the animal with those from the past decade to verify its age.

Since there was another attack on a cattle in the area on Wednesday (November 26), officials stated that they were verifying if the same animal was responsible for killing Nagi. “The issue is the identification of the animal that was coming into proximity to humans,” Mr. Ganesan said.

The forest department installed a cage to trap the animal on Wednesday, with an additional cage with live bait also to be placed near the site of the attack to draw out the suspected tiger.

Forest department teams armed with thermal drones are continuing to comb through the area in the evenings and during early mornings, officials said, with villagers throughout the tiger reserve being warned against straying out to areas around forest fringes.

Officials also said a decision on whether the animal will be relocated or kept in captivity will only be taken after it is captured and based on the recommendations of the Chief Wildlife Warden of Tamil Nadu.