MP: ‘Terrorised’ by tiger, tribals near Kanha back on tantric ritual
A tribal settlement carried out a ‘tantric’ ritual involving animal sacrifice in the presence of forest department’s field staff in a village bordering the Kanha Tiger Reserve on Thursday.
A tribal settlement carried out a ‘tantric’ ritual involving animal sacrifice in the presence of forest department’s field staff in a village bordering the Kanha Tiger Reserve on Thursday.
The ritual is ostensibly a ‘desperate’ attempt to quell tiger attacks, the latest instance being a week old when a tiger killed a 70-year-old man
The rituals conducted on Thursday by the Baiga tribals saw two pigs and two goats being sacrificed. Baiga tribals of Narangli village in Khatiya range have borne the brunt of tiger attacks. They called a female tantric from Balaghat for the ritual, believing they can then scare the tiger back into the deep forests of the reserve.
After the last killing of a person on June 17, the tiger killed the cattle of one of the villagers three days ago. According to wildlife officials, Kanha Tiger reserve seldom witnesses man-tiger conflict. In the last five years, there have been two deaths due to tiger attacks.
Kanha Tiger Reserve, located in the Maikal ranges of the Satpuras is spread over Mandla and Balaghat districts of MP. According to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) website, this Kanha Tiger Reserve with an area of 2,074 sq km — 940 sq km of it being the national park and 1,134 sq km being the buffer zone.
