Ranthambore tiger kills woman; 7 attacks in 2 years

JAIPUR : In a fresh incident on Saturday, a woman was killed by a tiger in the Kundera range of the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. The attack is the seventh reported over the past two years. The growing number of tigers in the park and their territorial fights for the land are being seen as the biggest reason for these attacks.

According to forest officials, the victim, Munni Devi (40), was in the forest performing her ablutions when she was attacked. They said local villagers informed the authorities of the incident.District Forest Officer Mukesh Saini said, “the post mortem has been done and villagers agreed on `4 lakh compensation and as far as the job is concerned, the administration will send a proposal for it to the state government.”

In Ranthambore, the number of tigers has been growing continuously. There are 50 adult tigers and 20 cubs in the reserve currently. “To absorb the growing population of tigers, we need to develop the adjoining area. The solution to the problem is the relocation of the villages. But in the last 5 years, only 6 villages have been relocated ... we can’t force anyone to shift. This is one of the main obstacles,” said a senior forest officer. 

Territorial battle

In the face of a space crunch in the reserve, the number of territorial fights among tigers is also on the rise. Recently, a tiger died in such a conflict. The tigers that lose their territories often stray into human habitats