Curious tiger strolls off with villager’s bag of mahua flowers

BHOPAL: A curious tiger was caught ‘thieving' on camera in the buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district. The incident occurred when a villager had collected mahua flowers and placed the bag under a tree while continuing his work nearby. In a video that surfaced Monday, the big cat — a sub-adult, according to officials — was seen approaching the spot and sitting under the tree for a while before calmly retreating into the forest, clutching the bag in its jaws."Cubs and sub-adult tigers often explore such areas and tend to be in a playful mood," an officer said, adding that the behaviour in this case appeared more curious than aggressive. "It was good that the villager stood calm and let the tiger take the bag away," he said.The mahua bag lifted by the tiger was estimated to have weighed around 3kg. With govt's MSP fixed at Rs 35 per kg, the produce would have fetched around Rs 105 for the villager, though rates can be higher in local markets. Forest authorities maintained that there is no provision to compensate for such losses.While no one was harmed in this case, officials said several cases of human-wildlife conflict are reported during the mahua collection season. Over the past few years, nearly two dozen cases of tiger attacks have been reported in and around Bandhavgarh.Forest officials said advisories have been issued repeatedly, but livelihood compulsions continue to push villagers deeper into tiger habitats. "People depend on mahua collection and often enter areas with active tiger movement despite warnings," an official said. The forest authorities maintained that there is no provision to compensate for such losses. Head of Forest Force (HoFF), Madhya Pradesh, Subharanjan Sen, told TOI that compensation is not provided for forest produce taken by wildlife. "There is no such provision. How long can we do that? Many wild animals feed on mahua and other forest produce," he said. The mahua bag is estimated to have weighed around 3 kg. With the govt's minimum support price (MSP) fixed at Rs 35 per kg, the produce would have fetched around Rs 105 for the villager, though rates can be higher in local markets. A retired forest officer pointed out that even this seemingly small amount is significant for economically weaker families.