Indian villagers help in tiger rescue

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NIDUGUMBA, India, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A wildlife conservation group says people in an Indian village deserve praise for their actions in saving an injured tiger that became entangled in barbed wire.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has commended the village of Nidugumba in Karnataka State in southwest India for their swift response to the plight of the animal now being cared for at the Mysore Zoo.

The female adult tiger was discovered on a coffee plantation Dec. 4 with its left paw caught in the barbed wire fence.

The coffee planter and other community members prevented the tiger from being harassed until forest rangers and veterinarians arrived and tranquilized the cat so it could be freed from the barbed wire, a WCS release said Wednesday.

"WCS India applauds the village of Nidugumba for their exemplary restraint and positive conservation attitude, and compliments the staff and officers of the Karnataka Forest Department for their model handling of a situation that could easily have turned into a tragedy for the tiger as well as humans," Ullas Karanth, WCS Director for Science - Asia, said.

"Too often, in situations involving a large predator that is accidentally cornered in human-dominated landscapes, people can swiftly form mobs and attack the animal as well as impede forest officials handling the situation.

"This often ends tragically with the death of the big cat and sometimes injuries to people and forest staff."