(IN): Villagers live in fear of Tadoba tigers

March 7, 2008

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*Villagers live in fear of Tadoba tigers*

Sanjay Tiwari

Friday, March 7, 2008 (Tadoba, Maharashtra)

On December 2 last year, the country's tiger census fell short by one.

Killed by the bullets of special shooters and paraded before frightened

villagers, was the man-eater of Tadoba.

A few hours later post-mortem was performed in full public view. Skinned and

examined by a forensic team, the man-eater was duly tamed.

But the shadow of the big cat is reigning still. For Vistari Kankalwar, a

shepherd in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, it was a close encounter that

spelt certain death.

''Suddenly, my neck was in severe pain and I was bleeding. The big cat

looked whitish with spots all over. I managed to scream and when the others

rushed to help me, it ran away,'' said Vistari Soma Kankalwar,

cattle-grazer.

In the lush green fields in and around the Tadoba-Andhari Reserve, 22 fatal

attacks have taken in few months. These attacks have mainly occurred in the

buffer zone, where the man-animal conflict is most intense.

More than 25 villages are in the grip of fear in this area, which has seen

four deaths due to the tiger attacks, in just two months.

In a recent encounter a tiger was spotted in Somnath village. News of a

tiger sighting travels fast in these areas.

Baba Pakhewar, a forest guard in Somnath village, is quick on the uptake for

such incidents.

More villagers joined the hunt for the spotted man-eater.

''The tiger was spotted in the bushes near the railway bridge. It was seen

about 45 minutes ago. It must be hiding somewhere in the bushes here,'' said

an excited Kemdev Moharle, villager, Kosambi village.

The chase was soon called off, in an affair that's becoming more and more

frequent in Tadoba, a tiger reserve where confrontation and not conservation

tops the agenda.

--

United against elephant polo

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