India ‘man-eater’ tiger that killed at least 9, including children, shot dead
- ‘Man-eater’ of Champaran in eastern India terrorised locals near the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, with woman and young son the latest victims
- Conservationists blame rapid expansion of human settlements for increase in man-animal conflict; India is home to 70% of world’s tigers
Indian police have shot dead a tiger dubbed the “Man-eater of Champaran” that killed at least nine people, in a major operation involving 200 people including trackers on elephants, officials said on Sunday.
The big cat had terrorised locals on the fringes of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Champaran in eastern India, killing at least six people in the past month including a woman and her eight-year-old son on Saturday.
Even before the two latest kills, authorities had designated the tiger, reportedly a male three or four years old, as a “man-eater”, meaning that it could be shot. Earlier attempts to tranquillise the animal had failed.
“Two teams went into the forest on two elephants on Saturday afternoon and the third one waited where we thought the tiger would exit, and we fired five rounds to kill it there,” said local police chief Kiran Kumar.
With local villagers beating tin containers, it took about six hours for the team – with eight shooters and about 200 forest department officials – to complete the operation, Kumar said.
Officials said that large sugar cane fields made it easier for the tiger to stay hidden and attack local villagers and their livestock.
The victims included a 12-year-old girl dragged from her bed on Wednesday night, reports said.