Drones are being used to locate the problematic tiger, T23, near Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and Gudalur on Saturday.

More than 75 personnel from the Forest Department, including expert trackers and a Special Task Force are engaged in the operations on ground to track the animal. Officials said that the prime objective of the operation would be to neutralize the animal using non-lethal methods, with the help of tranquillizer darts.

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Police stopped people from travelling past the Masinagudi check post while Forest staff have closed the Theppakadu check post. The entire stretch has been declared as an “operation area.” Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj said that sniffer dogs and drones were being used in big way. Highly-trained Forest elite forces would join the teams at MTR for capturing the tiger without harming him, he said and clairified that the tiger was not a man-eater.

The tiger, believed to be an old male in failing health, is suspected to have killed four persons in villages bordering MTR and Gudalur. Efforts to tranquillise and capture it were initiated more than a week ago by the Forest Department.