The shocking case of five tigers — including helpless cubs — dying of poisoning inside the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary (MM Hills) in Chamarajanagar district has once again laid bare the grim reality of human-wildlife conflict in Karnataka’s forest fringes.
The sight of the cubs dying after consuming poisoned meat left behind by their mother has melted the hearts of people across the state, while sparking outrage against the accused cattle herders who resorted to this cruel act as revenge for cattle losses.
Who are the accused?
The Chamarajanagar Forest Department has arrested three men: Madhuraju, son of Shivannagouda; Nagaraju alias Naga, son of Poojari Gowda; and Kunnappa, son of Sannegowda — all residents of Koppa village under Meenyam grama in Hanur taluk. These men allegedly hatched the plan to kill the tiger after repeated attacks on their cattle herds.
What triggered the poisoning?
According to the forest officials’ investigation, the roots of the conflict lie in the villagers’ dependence on grazing livestock inside the protected forest area. Villagers like Shivannagouda and Kunnappa rear more than 250 cows, many reportedly belonging to cattle owners from neighbouring Tamil Nadu. This trans-border grazing is a long-running practice that puts intense pressure on Karnataka’s forest ecosystems.
Last week, when two regular herders — Karthik and Madesh from Sangala Betta in Baraguru — went home for a family function, Madhuraju and Kunnappa took over the grazing duties. While tending to the cattle inside the forest, they found that some cows had strayed. Later, they discovered that one of Kunnappa’s cows had been killed by a tiger. Just days before, Madhuraju’s bull had also been mauled by a tiger and seriously injured.
Consumed by anger, Madhuraju reportedly decided to take revenge on the big cat that was threatening their livelihood. During interrogation, he revealed that Nagaraju alias Naga had supplied him with fluoride pesticide. He applied the pesticide to the thigh of the dead cow to poison the tiger when it returned to feed.
As expected, the tiger — which was a mother — returned to the kill site with its cubs. All of them consumed the poisoned flesh and died. When forest officials recovered the carcasses, a post-mortem confirmed the deaths were due to pesticide poisoning. This led to the arrest of the three men.
Former MLA blames cross-border grazing
Former Hanur MLA Narendra has raised serious allegations that a fertilizer and pesticide racket is thriving in the forest-border villages. He says many herders illegally graze cattle belonging to Tamil Nadu owners deep inside Karnataka forests for profit. He has demanded urgent action to stop this practice and protect wildlife.
Forest watchers unpaid, patrolling hit
The incident has also highlighted the poor conditions of the forest protection staff. More than 65 forest watchers of the Malemahadeshwara Hill Wildlife Department have reportedly not been paid for five to six months, while salaries for office staff have continued. Many watchers, struggling to educate their children, have lost morale, weakening forest patrolling in critical tiger zones.
Wildlife experts say this lack of on-ground vigilance makes it easy for villagers to commit such acts of retaliation, risking the survival of endangered species like the tiger.
The three accused were produced before Kollegal Principal Civil Judge Kavyashree late Saturday night. After medical checks at the Kollegal Sub-Divisional Hospital, they were remanded to judicial custody and will be presented in court again on Monday. The Forest Department is likely to seek further custody for detailed questioning.
