The residents of Thampapathy were living in fear, following the sudden appearance of the tiger and taking away a calf, tied in the backyard of a farmer's house a few days ago.
Though the department has fixed cameras at strategic points to monitor the movement of the animal, the people wanted to trap it, police said.
Amid caution, the villagers are asked not to move in the early hours or late in the evening, to avoid attacks from the tiger, the officials had kept an iron cage in the area, they said.