A 55-year-old tribal Javaraiah from Maddur colony in Gundulpet Taluk of Chamarajanagara district in Karnataka was mauled to death by a tiger inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve on Saturday triggering panic among people of hamlets surrounding the forest. Javaraiah has become the fifth victim of tiger attack indicating a clear escalation of man-animal conflict in the forests of Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger reserve in Karnataka.
According to eyewitnesses, Javaraiah, a Soliga tribal, had ventured out to graze cattle and was seated near a bush when he was attacked by the tiger, mauled and dragged away.
Javaraiah was found dead just inside the forest of Bandipur Tiger Reserve where he was grazing cattle along with others. According to HC Kantharaju, Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, the tiger had mutilated the body and devoured a part of the corpse. He said, “Two eyewitnesses informed our staff that a tiger had attacked and killed the tribal. The animal has mutilated the body and devoured a part of the corpse.”
After this incident and strict orders from Government, the forest officials are not taking any chances and have started combing operations to trace the animal. They have also deployed tamed elephants to track the tiger.
Meanwhile, district incharge Minister HS Mahadevaprasad on Saturday visited the village and handed over `1 lakh as initial compensation. The Minister also ordered the forest officials to trap the man-eater.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had warned the forest officials against any such attack and made them responsible to any animal attack after a tiger which killed four persons which include a forest watcher.
An activist told The Pioneer that the tribal was inside the tiger reserve grazing the cattle which is prohibited. He said, “What was he doing inside the tiger reserveIJ They go inside and create problems. This is clear case of increased man-animal conflict.”
This is the fourth such incident in the last one month being reported from Bandipur forest alone. A tiger, which was subsequently tranquilised and captured at Chikkabargi, had claimed three lives in HD Kote in Mysore district in a week. In another unrelated incident, a forest guard was mauled and killed by a tiger in the adjoining Nagarahole National Park around the same time.