One person was mauled to death in a tiger attack near Nagarahole national park on Thursday. This is the second such incident to take place this week and has spread panic among the communities living along the forest area.
The incident occurred at Thimanna Hosahalli in the DB Kuppe Range, a dense forest area of the national park. The victim was identified as Mara, a resident of the area who was grazing his sheep.
KM Narayanaswamy, Conservator of Forests, confirmed that the victim's face was badly mauled by the tiger. "Tigers do not usually turn out to be man-eaters but according to the wounds on the man, it appears to be that of the tiger. The incident has occurred around half-a-kilometre inside the forest. We are yet to determine why this tiger is attacking people. It may be too old to hunt so it might be targeting humans as easy prey," Narayanaswamy told TNM.
The authorities have sought permission to shoot the tiger dead. "We had no choice but to ask permission to shoot the tiger," he adds.
The latest incident comes days after another local resident - Chinnappa - was attacked by a tiger at Hullumutlu, around 3 km away from Thimanna Hosahalli. Forest officials had begun a combing operation in the dense forest as soon as the tiger attack was reported but the tiger had not appeared even on a camera trap until Thursday.
However, wildlife activists claimed that shooting the tiger should be the last resort. "The last resort should be shooting the tiger dead. We must try all possible ways to capture and rehabilitate the tiger. Our team is working with the forest officials and according to the information we have collected, the tiger is attacking humans since it is injured," Manjunath J, founder of the Wilderness Club told TNM.
The activist also added that the area is known for having a dense tiger population with around 100 tigers spread out across the habitat.