A man-eater tigress, believed to have killed at least 21 humans near Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh since October 2020, has been captured and brought to Lucknow zoo as she will have to spend the rest of her life in captivity, officials have confirmed.

Four of the human beings were killed by the tigress in June alone and there were at least two others in May. The big cat had become a source of terror for villagers in the Lakhimpur Kheri district.

The nine- year- old tigress was found to have broken upper and lower canine teeth because of which she could not hunt her natural prey.

A Times of India report cited the director of the Lucknow zoo, Ashok Kumar, as saying that the tigress has been kept in isolation and is under observation. He confirmed that three of her canine teeth were damaged as a result of which she could not kill wild animals.

The tigress and another tiger were caught in the Manjhra Purab forest area of the Dudhwa buffer zone. However, the tiger was found to be healthy and released in the wild as he was capable of hunting natural prey and did not pose a threat to humans, officials said.

Tigers turn into man-eaters when they are no longer capable of killing wild animals due to broken canines, injured paws and old age.