Chandrapur: A shepherd grazing his cattle in the forests of buffer zone of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) was mauled by a tiger on Sunday afternoon. He survived the attack with minor injuries after managing to thwart the tiger with his axe.
Resident of village Wasera in buffer zone, shepherd Tejram Nagpure had taken his cattle for grazing in the forests under Shivni (buffer) range of TATR. While the cattle were grazing in compartment no. 580, a tiger lurking in the area attacked Tejram. He suffered claw injuries from the tiger, but managed to swing his axe to threaten away the tiger.
Hearing his cries, other shepherds in the area rushed to his rescue. They saw the tiger and Tejram facing each other and raised a din to distract the beast. Startled by the arrival of others, the tiger fled into the jungle. On getting information forest officials rushed to the spot and took an injured Tejram to the rural hospital at Sindewahi. Later, he was shifted to Chandrapur, where his condition is reported stable. Foresters have given ex gratia aid of Rs3,000 to the injured shepherd, sources in forest department said.
Man-animal conflict is at its peak in Chandrapur district and so far 27 people have been killed in predator attacks this year.