Tiger mauls forest worker to death in Pilibhit Reserve

A 50-year-old forest worker was mauled to death by a tiger in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in the wee hours of Tuesday. With this, the number of deaths caused due to tiger attacks has risen to eight this year. The mutilated body of the deceased was sent for postmortem examination.

Confirming the incident, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve Kailash Prakash said, “The deceased Tara Chand, a resident of the district, was attacked and killed by an adult tiger near Mahof range of the reserve. Tara Chand was employed as a forest watcher on temporary basis.”

According to forest officials, Chand was in charge of the night shift and was apparently moving from one watch tower to other when the incident occurred. His body was spotted by other watchers on Tuesday morning. The watchers further informed the forest officials and called an ambulance to take the body for postmortem. As per the postmortem report, most parts and internal organs of the diseased were missing. The skeletal cage was intact while lungs, liver, limbs and shoulder blade were missing. The skull was also fractured. Considering the extent of injuries to Chand’s body, the doctors have confirmed that his death was caused by a ‘large animal’.

The forest officials have sanctioned an immediate monetary compensation of Rs 10,000 to the family of the deceased.

The incident has again brought the ongoing man-animal conflict to the limelight. The dense tropical forest located in the north of Pilibhit was recognised as a Tiger Reserve in 2014. Apart from antelopes, spotted deer and boars, the forest has over 44 (as per 2016 census) tigers.

According to wildlife experts, the forest has reached its capacity in accommodating tigers.

The limitation of space is forcing tigers towards the boundaries of the forest which lead to these incidents.