Tiger crushed to death with tractor by angry locals in UP’s Dudhwa

Lucknow, Nov 5: Angry villagers killed a tigress in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) area Sunday evening by running a tractor over it, after the animal fatally attacked a local resident, officials said.

Devanand (50) was critically injured after being attacked by the tigress at Chaitua village. He died during treatment at a district hospital.

Confirming the killing of the animal by the villagers, Mahavir Kaujlagi, deputy field director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve said, "The carcass of the tigress has been found and appropriate legal action is being taken in the matter, including registration of FIR against the errant villagers".

Ramesh Kumar Pandey, field director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, also took cognisance of the incident.

He said appropriate action will be taken in the matter.

Second instance

This is the second incident days after a controversy over the killing of another tigress, known as Avni, that was believed to have killed 13 people in the last two years in a forest in Maharashtra.

Question on conservation method

The villagers say the animal had been attacking their livestock for two weeks and they were terrified. They said they had complained to forest officials about the tigress several times.

The killing of a second tigress in less than a week intensifies the debate over the effectiveness of conservation efforts in India.

Maneka Gandhi calls it a murder

On Sunday, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi lashed out at the BJP-led Maharashtra government for ordering the "ghastly murder" of tigress Avni, and also said she would speak to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the earliest.

A report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority estimated the tiger population in India at 2,226 after a comprehensive nationwide count in 2014. The authority in collaboration with state forest departments, non-profit groups and the Wildlife Institute of India conducts a national assessment on tigers every four years.