Another Disturbing Big Cat Incident in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
Click to start listening
Synopsis
The Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has seen consecutive days of tiger attacks, with a woman critically injured while collecting Mahua flowers. The rising frequency of these attacks poses a significant threat to local communities.
Key Takeaways
- Two consecutive tiger attacks in Bandhavgarh.
- Rita Baiga critically injured while gathering Mahua.
- Surge in tiger attacks in local villages.
- Three fatalities reported in twenty days.
- Villagers intervened to help Rita.
Bhopal, April 13 (NationPress) The Dhamokhar buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has experienced yet another alarming tiger attack, marking the second consecutive day of such incidents.
On Sunday morning, a 38-year-old woman named Rita Baiga from Simaria village was reportedly assaulted by a tigress.
She had entered the forest to gather Mahua flowers when a tiger concealed in the underbrush ambushed her. The fierce predator pounced, causing severe claw injuries to the back of her head.
Rita was immediately transported to the district hospital in Umaria in critical condition, where medical professionals applied fifteen stitches to her wounds before transferring her to Jabalpur for further treatment.
“Her injuries were quite severe, necessitating her referral to Jabalpur,” stated Dr. Kailash Chandra Soni, the civil surgeon at Umaria district hospital, in an interview with IANS.
This incident marks the fourth human-tiger confrontation within the reserve in a mere twenty days—a troubling trend that has already resulted in three fatalities: a man, a woman, and a twelve-year-old boy.
The Mahua season typically provides an additional source of income for tribal and local communities, as Mahua flowers are gathered during the summer months. However, this activity has become increasingly perilous due to a rise in tiger attacks in villages adjacent to the reserve.
In just ten days, a woman and a fourteen-year-old boy lost their lives in separate occurrences.
On Sunday morning, the tigress attacked Rita while she was collecting Mahua, but villagers quickly intervened, driving the animal back into the forest.
Additional Superintendent of Police Pratipal Singh Mahobia pointed out that the park's limited size, coupled with a growing tiger population, has pushed these magnificent predators into the buffer zones.
He also noted that tigers tend to be particularly active during the early morning hours—the same time villagers venture out to collect Mahua flowers. One of the most tragic incidents involved the attack on twelve-year-old Vijay Kol from Pipariya.
On April 12, he had accompanied his grandfather and uncle into the forest to gather Mahua flowers when, unexpectedly, the same tigress emerged from the foliage, seized the boy in its powerful jaws, and dragged him away.
Despite immediate search efforts by villagers and Tiger Reserve staff, Vijay’s lifeless body was later found in a nearby pool.
