Tiger attacks: 11 killed in May in Maharashtra's Chandrapur

Mumbai: Back-to-back tiger attacks in Chandrapur district, which houses the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), have become a cause of alarm, with more than 11 persons losing their lives in May.

The TATR, which is home to over 100 tigers, has become a wildlife-human conflict zone and the recent spate of attacks has rattled the Maharashtra Forest Department and the Chandrapur district administration and police.

Most of the attacks took when people had taken cattle for grazing or had gone out to collect tendu leaves.

On May 27, two deaths were reported - Nanda Sanjay Makalwar (45) and Suresh Sopankar (52).

Nanda, a resident of Chiroli village in Mul tehsil, who had gone to the forest to collect bamboo sticks with her husband and some others, was attacked by a tiger in Chichpalli forest range.

Meanwhile, Suresh, a resident of Kantapeth, was mauled to death in the same compartment no. 524 under Chichpalli range around noon. He had gone to the forest to graze cattle.

The two incidents have been reported from the buffer zone of TATR.

Earlier, on May 10, three women from Sindewahi tehsil—Kanta Budhaji Chaudhary (65), her daughter-in-law Shubhangi Manoj Chaudhary (28) and Rekha Shalik Shende (50)—all residents of Mendha-Mal village, were killed by a tiger while they were collecting tendu leaves. Another woman, Vandana Gajbhiye was injured in the attack.

Subsequently, on May 18, two persons Maroti Shende (64) and Rushi Pendor (30) were killed in tiger attacks. Maroti, a resident of Wadhona village, was attacked and injured by a big cat in the Talodhi forest range in the Nagbhid tehsil under the Bramhapuri forest division. The body of Rushi, a resident of Shivpur-Chek village in Mul tehsil, too was found.

On May 23, under the leadership of Dr. Ravikant Khobragade, Veterinary Officer (Wildlife), TATR, the Rapid Rescue Team successfully tranquilized and captured a 5-year-old male tiger from the Talodhi. This tiger, involved in a human-wildlife conflict, has been shifted to Wildlife Research & Training Centre at Gorewada in Nagpur.