Man-eating tigress shot dead in India after six-week search

The animal largely frequented agricultural fields, causing panic among farmers who were too afraid to harvest their crops

Indian wildlife officials say they have killed a man-eating tigress after an extensive operation carried out over six weeks.

The tigress is believed to have killed two people and injured another five in northern Uttarakhand state.

It largely frequented agricultural areas, causing panic among farmers who were too afraid to harvest crops from their fields.

India is home to one of the largest tiger populations in the world.

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An official with the Uttarakhand forest department told the BBC's Raju Gusain that they had taken the call to kill the animal after multiple efforts to tranquilise it had failed. He said that the tigress had become too dangerous.

The elusive animal was located with the help of helicopters, drones and thermal imaging - the first time such sophisticated technology has been employed to hunt for a tiger.

It was identified through photographic evidence using more than 50 trap cameras and was found and shot on Thursday morning, he added.

Villagers celebrated the death of the animal by bursting crackers, our correspondent says.