Hordes Of Villagers Risk Their Own Lives, Take Kids Along To Hunt A Maneating Tigress
With hordes of villagers, many with small children in tow, joining the search for the elusive man-eater tigress near Ramnagar on Friday, questions have been raised as to why so many people were allowed to hunt for the big cat in a move that would endanger their lives.
With hordes of villagers, many with small children in tow, joining the search for the elusive man-eater tigress near Ramnagar on Friday, questions have been raised as to why so many people were allowed to hunt for the big cat in a move that would endanger their lives.
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Even as environmentalists wondered why no checks were kept on people's movement, forest officials said the district administration had been asked for additional forces to help in crowd control.
Surendra Mehta, director of Corbett tiger reserve, said, "Friday's operation got risky. What if the animal pounced at the crowd?"
"We were on tenterhooks as we prepared ourselves to capture or shoot the animal and simultaneously protect the people. The operation is still on". Officials have appealed to local residents to cooperate with the operation.
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"If the crowd hadn't interfered, the operation would have been successful a week ago," said a noted conservationist who is assisting the team in the task.
On Friday, the team of more than 150 people had managed to corner the tigress in a 2-3 acre sugarcane field. Temporary machans, human chains, nets, tranquilizing guns mounted on three elephants and other arrangements were in place.
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"The crowd and interference from people spoiled it all. It was foolish of the local residents to visit the spot with their families and kids aged as young as four," said a DFO rank officer on condition of anonymity.
