Tiger kills cowherd in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

A man was mauled to death by a tiger in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on Saturday, a forest official said.

Updated on: Aug 22, 2015, 23:34:21 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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A man was mauled to death by a tiger in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on Saturday, a forest official said.

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The victim, identified as Sonelal Rai, was grazing his cattle along with two other villagers in the buffer zone of the reserve when a tiger pounced on him and mauled him to death, said CH Murlikrishnan, the field director of the tiger reserve.

“The other two villagers fled from the spot and informed forest officials posted nearby,” Murlikrishnan told Hindustan Times by phone.

The area where the attack took place is generally frequented three tigers, including a couple that is mating and another 11-year-old male tiger, he said.

“Generally two to three villagers go for grazing cattle in the forest area on a rotation basis.”

Bandhavgarh-based wildlife enthusiast Pushpendra Diwedi, who saw the body of the victim, said the tiger had bitten off a portion of the neck of the man but had not been eaten him.

Agitated villagers blocked the road in the area for over an hour until police reached the spot and pacified the crowd with the promise that Rs 10 lakh compensation and a job for the kin of the victim, said Murlikrishnan.

“According to norms, we can provide a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to the family of victim within three days. And we will do that.”

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve with one of the highest tiger concentrations in the country has been witnessing an increase in man-animal conflict in last few years.

More than 10 people have been killed by tigers in the reserve in the last 7 years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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