Tranquilising A Tiger: The Art of Big Cat Rescue Amid Angry Crowds

On World Tiger Day, the story of how tigers are saved with an expertly administered tranquilising dart.

Of India’s roughly 2,200 tigers, most would never pose a threat to humans.

(Photo: Mritunjay Tiwari)

(This article was first published on 28 July 2017 and has been reposted from The Quint’s archives on the occasion of International Tiger Day.)

Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia

Shooting a tiger is easy, darting one is not.

Mayukh Chatterjee, head of conflict mitigation at the Wildlife Trust of India

'Chedilal' is a 235kg tiger from Mailani in Uttar Pradesh. Named after the village that feared him, he is now in the Lucknow Zoo. With a lost eye and broken canine and unable to hunt for his usual prey, he was a danger to humans.

Chedilal in Lucknow Zoo.

It took a camera-fitted drone and an elephant back search-party to locate him. After being safely sedated amidst a crowd of hundreds and medically examined, it became clear why he was not fit to survive in the wild.

Of India’s roughly 2,200 tigers, most would never pose a threat to humans. However, those tigers who are too weak or injured and pushed out to the fringes of the forest seek easy prey like livestock.

A tiger that strays into human habitat is in danger from gathered crowds, and may attack out of fear. Tranquilising a tiger is a specialised job with risks. It requires just the right dose – an overdose can be fatal for the animal, an inadequate dose means that the tiger may regain consciousness while being handled by rescuers and others around it, putting a lot of people in danger.

Once removed from the site, a tiger must be released as soon as possible into the wild, so as to minimise its contact with people. Those that have been in captivity for any amount of time could lose their fear of people and are therefore too risky to be released.