<p>“I owe my life to him. He saved me, but I could not save him,” said a grief-stricken Huche Gowda, who helplessly witnessed his friend and colleague Anjaneya (Anji) being mauled to death by tiger cubs on Saturday evening.<br /><br />After recording his statement at Bannerghatta police station, Huche Gowda, speaking to DH, recollected the horror.<br /><br /> “I take care of an enclosure, which houses Vinay, the Royal Bengal tiger. Since Narayanappa, a caretaker of another enclosure, had taken a day off on Saturday, I was also in charge of his enclosure, which housed - Surya, Vanya, Jhansi and Subhadra (all white tigers). I requested Anji to help me out as I was alone,” he said.<br /><br />“I told him (Anji) to maintain a safe distance and only clean the area. After keeping meat for the animals I closed the cages. There is a small passage between the two cages. Anji trying to clean the area entered the passage space and slipped into the cage. I was picking up the meat tray when I heard Anji scream. I saw Jhansi attack him and Vanya rushing towards me. I ran into the empty cage next to the wall and pulled the shutters. Vanya and Jhansi attacked Anji and dragged him into the safari area. Stranded in the cage, I screamed for help. Krishna and Nanjappa, animal-keepers in the other areas came running. I had also called up Mallur and Shivakumar, two caretakers, and informed them about the incident.<br /><br />“The news spread and other staffers came in safari buses and jeeps. I then came out of the enclosure and re-checked the locks of enclosures where Surya and Subhadra were housed. With help of my colleagues, Vanya and Jhansi were brought back to their enclosure.”<br /><br />Working since 21 years<br /><br />Gowda, 38, has been working in BBP since 21 years. He was posted as animal-keeper only last year. Before his new posting, he worked as the gatekeeper, safari gate operator and night patrol. “Even though I am scared, this is my job and I love animals. I will report back to duty tomorrow. This is the only source of income of my family,” Gowda said with tears in his eyes.</p>
<p>“I owe my life to him. He saved me, but I could not save him,” said a grief-stricken Huche Gowda, who helplessly witnessed his friend and colleague Anjaneya (Anji) being mauled to death by tiger cubs on Saturday evening.<br /><br />After recording his statement at Bannerghatta police station, Huche Gowda, speaking to DH, recollected the horror.<br /><br /> “I take care of an enclosure, which houses Vinay, the Royal Bengal tiger. Since Narayanappa, a caretaker of another enclosure, had taken a day off on Saturday, I was also in charge of his enclosure, which housed - Surya, Vanya, Jhansi and Subhadra (all white tigers). I requested Anji to help me out as I was alone,” he said.<br /><br />“I told him (Anji) to maintain a safe distance and only clean the area. After keeping meat for the animals I closed the cages. There is a small passage between the two cages. Anji trying to clean the area entered the passage space and slipped into the cage. I was picking up the meat tray when I heard Anji scream. I saw Jhansi attack him and Vanya rushing towards me. I ran into the empty cage next to the wall and pulled the shutters. Vanya and Jhansi attacked Anji and dragged him into the safari area. Stranded in the cage, I screamed for help. Krishna and Nanjappa, animal-keepers in the other areas came running. I had also called up Mallur and Shivakumar, two caretakers, and informed them about the incident.<br /><br />“The news spread and other staffers came in safari buses and jeeps. I then came out of the enclosure and re-checked the locks of enclosures where Surya and Subhadra were housed. With help of my colleagues, Vanya and Jhansi were brought back to their enclosure.”<br /><br />Working since 21 years<br /><br />Gowda, 38, has been working in BBP since 21 years. He was posted as animal-keeper only last year. Before his new posting, he worked as the gatekeeper, safari gate operator and night patrol. “Even though I am scared, this is my job and I love animals. I will report back to duty tomorrow. This is the only source of income of my family,” Gowda said with tears in his eyes.</p>