A tiger suspected to be a man-eater killed a 50-year old man in Ghunghuti range of Shahdol forest circle on Tuesday. The tiger attacked Udaybhan, a resident of Kachodar village of Umariya district, at 12 noon when he was grazing his cattle in the forest.
It is the fourth instance of tiger attack on humans during the past six months in the same forest circle raising alarm bells for the forest department as it might be a sign of the tiger becoming man-eater. People living in the vicinity of the forest circle are in fear and are demanding from the forest department to take steps that such incidents do not recur.
Shahdol Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Sunil Agarwal while talking to 'The Pioneer' confirmed the killing by tiger. "Prima facie it could not be said that the tiger has gone man-eater as after killing the man it left him without eating. But still nothing could be said for sure at this point of time, besides we are ascertaining the cause for the attack. We have inspected the spot and have talked to the villagers living near forest and would soon come out with a conclusion over the issue.
Agarwal said that it is the second attack on human by the same striped feline within a span of 40 days but there is vast difference between this attack and the last attack that happened on September 3. That time also the tiger after killing the man fled the scene without eating him. This is a positive sign and due to this strong point we are confident that the tiger has not become a man-eater, he added.
He said this time the cause of the attack is not clear till now but the attack on September 3 was because the deceased unknowingly reached very near to the tiger.
Wildlife experts opine that before labeling a feline man-eater it needs to be checked whether the attacks on human are accidental or deliberate. Accidental attacks are mostly in defence - a tigress with cubs is typically high-strung. As are all big cats during a hard-earned meal. A surprised tiger is rarely a pleased tiger and tiger could not be labeled man-eater just after single attack but if it has made two or more deliberate attacks then it becomes essential to monitor it and start taking preventive measures.