人里好きな「人食いトラ」を再捕獲、一生飼育下に　インド

【ニューデリーＡＦＰ＝時事】インド西部マハラシュトラ州の自然保護当局は7日、過去に3人の命を奪ったとされる野生のトラを死ぬまで飼育下に置くと発表した。2018年に捕獲した後、自然に戻す試みを何度か行ったが、そのたびに人里近くに戻ってきてしまったため、自由にさせるのは「危険すぎる」と判断したという。（写真は資料写真）
　この雄トラは２０１８年、マハラシュトラ州から中部マディヤプラデシュ州のベトゥルまで５００キロ以上を移動し、少なくとも３人を殺害したほか、牛を襲ったとみられている。地元メディアは「放浪トラ」「流浪のトラ」などと報じていた。
　トラは２０１８年１２月に捕獲され、２か月後に追跡用の首輪を装着されて自然に戻された。だが、トラ保護区や国立公園に放つたび迷い出ては、人里近くで狩りをしたり家畜を襲ったりして住民を危険にさらしたという。
　トラは６日、麻酔銃を使って捕獲され、マディヤプラデシュ州の州都ボパールにある動物園に移送された。
　同州の自然保護当局者はＡＦＰの取材に、「何度か自然環境に戻る機会を与えたが、このトラには人家に近づいていく習性があった」「トラと人の両方の安全を確保するためには、トラを飼育下に置くしかない」と説明した。
　ボパールのバンビハール国立公園によると、トラは現在１頭だけ隔離された状態にあり、後日、動物園で公開するか柵で囲まれたサファリパークで放し飼いにするかを決定するという。
　インドには世界のトラの約７割が生息する。インド政府の統計によれば、２０１４～１９年にトラに襲われて死亡した人は２００人以上に上る。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/09-13:05）

A tiger blamed for killing three people will spend the rest of its life in captivity, Indian officials said Sunday, saying the big cat was too dangerous to be allowed to roam free.
The five-year-old male predator, also blamed for attacking cattle, had embarked on a trek more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) long from western Maharashtra state to central India's Betul district in Madhya Pradesh state in 2018.
We gave it several chances to re-wild but it habitually went into human habitations, Madhya Pradesh's chief wildlife warden, S.K. Mandal, told AFP.
The only option left was to put it in captivity to ensure both the tiger and humans are safe.
The tiger -- dubbed the vagabond or nomad by some local media -- was first trapped in December 2018 after its long journey and held in captivity for two months.
The big cat was eventually fitted with a tracking collar and shuttled between a tiger reserve and a national park.
Officials however said it repeatedly strayed and hunted near human settlements, attacking cattle and endangering humans.
Finally the tiger was tranquilised and sent to a zoo in Madhya Pradesh capital's Bhopal on Saturday.
Officials said the decision to capture the adult tiger was taken a few months ago, but was delayed due to the novel coronavirus lockdown.
It will take sometime for him to adjust to the new environment. We will be monitoring his behaviour, Bhopal's Van Vihar National Park director, Kamlika Mohanta, told AFP.
As of now it will remain in solitary confinement. A decision to put it on display at the zoo or send it to a (fenced) safari will be taken later.
Human encroachment on tiger habitats have increased in recent decades in the nation of 1.3 billion people, leading to deadly conflicts with the animals.
Nearly 225 people were killed in tiger attacks between 2014 and 2019, according to government figures.
More than 200 tigers were killed by poachers or electrocution between 2012 and 2018, the data showed.
India is home to around 70 percent of the world's tigers. Last year, the government said the tiger population had risen to 2,967 in 2018 from a record low of 1,411 in 2006.