A tiger killed a 45-year-old man near Kalagarh dam on the periphery of the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand on February 9. The victim, Ramcharan, who worked as a contract labourer in the irrigation colony of the Kalagarh dam was around 50 metres away from the main road in the Kalagarh reserve when the tiger attacked. Forest department officials called it an accidental attack.
There has been a spurt in the killings of humans by tigers across the country in the past two months. Since December last year, 18 people have been killed by tigers. The latest incident was the eighth killing in the villages of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh by tigers that most probably strayed from Corbett and surrounding forests in past two months.
A tigress, believed to have dispersed from Corbett, has reportedly killed five people in Bijnor and Moradabad districts since December end. The tigress was declared a man-eater by the Uttar Pradesh forest department. The department has been since trying to capture the tigress but has not made any headway till now. One more person was killed by a male tiger in Bijnor and another person was killed by a male tiger in Kalagarh reserve during the same time.
The tiger that killed Ramcharan in Kalagarh has not been identified yet, said Saket Badola, deputy director of Corbett Tiger Reserve. “So far, it seems to be an accidental killing. The body of the deceased person was not eaten by the tiger. There are injuries on the leg. Besides, nobody has seen the tiger that attacked the person. Our investigation is on,” added Badola.