Tiger that strayed from Sariska attacks villager near Bhiwadi

JAIPUR/ALWAR: A male tiger that has strayed out of Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) attacked a 75-year-old farmer near Bhiwadi in Khairthal-Tijara district, nearly 100 km away from the park, on Thursday.

After the big cat was learnt to have ventured out of STR and entered the northern border district, the forest department has alerted its Haryana counterpart about its movement.

The tiger, T-2303, which is nearly three years old, charged at Raghuveer Yadav, 75, in Khuskhera police station area around 2pm on Thursday when he was changing the pipes of the fountains in his mustard field. The big cat attacked Yadav, scratching him badly with its paws. Fellow villagers raised a noise immediately and chased the tiger away. Vijay Singh Chauhan, a neighbour of Yadav's who took him to a private hospital at Rewari, said the injured farmer was discharged after being administered first aid.

On receiving information about the incident, a team of forest department officials of Sariska range reached the spot to rescue the tiger. But the team faced difficulty in tracking the big cat as the crowd movement had erased its footprints, said officials.

The forest department has now deployed a team there to monitor the tiger's movements so as to rescue it.

An alert was issued to nearby villagers not to move out before 7am and after 5pm. Villagers have also been urged to report to the forest department in case the tiger kills cattle.

"As the tiger population has increased in the park in recent past, young male tigers are venturing out in search of territory. It is a common phenomenon in the wild. In Ranthambore, too, tigers move to Dholpur and Madhya Pradesh on their own," said STR field director RN Meena.

T-2303 being a young tiger, officials said there will be no attempt to tranquilise it as it can cause it stress. The teams are monitoring it continuously and waiting for it to return to the forest on its own. The area where it is reportedly living has thick forest cover, waterholes, and is safe for it, said officials. The chief wildlife warden of Haryana has also been alerted about the tiger's straying.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword. Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes, messages, and quotes.